


Movement and Flow

by Happy_Cloud



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, mild body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-12-25 16:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 126,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12040254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Cloud/pseuds/Happy_Cloud
Summary: After Lapis was set free she sailed by herself in a small wooden vessel with no one to tame her but herself and the ocean. It was great until she got captured again and fatally wounded by her old lover.Or a kind of pirate AU where no one really acts like a pirate





	1. Chapter 1

Lapis had been a lot of things in her lifetime. An orphan. A beggar. A navy soldier. A prisoner. A traitor. A pirate. And a prisoner once again. A week ago she was a free woman sailing the ocean in her own private vessel commanding the waves and now she is once again sitting on the floor of an old Homeland prison ship chained to the wall. She knows what's coming next: they’ll torture her for information that she doesn’t have and then she will be killed for not giving the information. _At least for now it really can’t get much worse._ They already destroyed her small sailing boat, took all of her money, and worst of all stole her whiskey. “Sobriety past the age of fifteen is a curse among men,” Lapis muttered to herself.

The ship she was on is one of the older ones and she recognizes it from her days in the navy as the Homeland Red Eye and even with its age and impressive war time resume it was still in pretty good condition. So, it was clean enough to only have few rats, she gets scraps two times a day, and they haven’t even beaten her yet! So far the first mate had just came down and questioned her every so often. All around this prison term was pretty good compared to some of the others in her life.

A small grate was on the ceiling and let in a minute trickle of light that allowed her to spy on some of the crew members during the day and give her much needed warmth and fresh air. At the moment the wooden mesh offered a slightly obscure view of the captain talking to the first mate. Lapis couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying because they were talking softer than normal and they were far away, but from their lips she could make out some bits and pieces of their conversation. Some words like ‘question’ or ‘information’ and ‘pendant’ and ‘deal with her’. The last of those had the captain give a huge predatory grin that showed her sharp teeth.

Loud thudding footsteps of a huge person came from the upper deck signalling that the captain was slowly making her way towards Lapis. _Fuck my life_. She made her way down with two other people one being her first mate and walked toward Lapis with her long white hair swaying side to side much like a cat’s tail when it was getting ready to pounce. She knelt down so that her face was so close to Lapis that she could see the multiple scars that almost obscured her nose and the intensity of her bright yellow eyes.

Captain Jasper Clavo was once a significant part of Homeland’s navy until she was moved to smaller captain details after the war ended thirteen years ago. Now she is much like a bounty hunter sailing around the globe for traitors so they can be brought back to Homeland to be tried and killed. Jasper was everything that Homeland prided in a veteran: intimidating, strong, and ruthless. To be honest those were the things that attracted her to Jasper years ago when they were lovers. She loved the power and control that Jasper possessed on everyone that she interacted with until it started to bleed into their domestic life and slash apart an already failing relationship.

“Hello, my water witch. Since you haven’t been speaking with my questioners I decided that it’s my turn to have a little chat you,” Jasper said with a fake sweet voice and a mocking smile.

Lapis shivered in fear at the nickname that used to make her shiver in a different way. “I don’t have any information, Jasper.”

Annoyance flashed over the captain. “Sure you do, traitor. We know you’ve been with the crew of The Crystal Gem. You must have heard something about the murder of Pink Diamond.”

True, she had been on the ship as a prisoner during the war and then a crew member for a few months (mostly because of an incredible boy named Steven), but it’s not like she would share any of the information with Jasper. If she did then it could ultimately hurt Steven or some of the other crew members that she tolerated. “They never spoke of Pink Diamond during my time with them and I never asked.”

At that answer Jasper’s smug smile was replaced with a frown. “Alright then, still don’t want to talk? Fine. Do you at least have any idea about the location of Pink Diamond’s pendant?”

“No,” Lapis replied looking down to the floor.

Jasper growled and grabbed Lapis’ blue hair forcefully and pulled her head up, “Look at me when I’m speaking to you! So, you have absolutely no information on the crew of The Crystal Gem?”

“No, they barely interacted with me,” Lapis replied in her best even voice. She knew from experience it was just better to submissive towards her when she got this type of physically angry. In the long run it would mean less pain.

“It’s not like we can’t just locate it with the tracker when it’s finished.” Jasper said under her breath. She then studied her for a moment perhaps to decide if Lapis was telling the truth or to admire the fact that even after all this time has past the she still had so much control over her. “Well, if you don’t have any useful information what should I do with you then? I’m not due back in Homeland for another three months and you’ll just use up rations.” Her grip eased up on Lapis’ blue hair and her other hand lightly traced the side of her face. “I’m short a few hands due to a couple cases of smallpox and your work and company would surely be a great asset around here. I could even let you stay with me in my private quarters. So, what do you say Lapis? Would you like to be part of my crew again?” Jasper finished with a purr.

“No,” Lapis answered immediately.

“Why not?”

“All we did was hurt each other Jasper, it wasn’t a good relationship.”

“We can do better this time.”

“I said no, Jasper,” Lapis stated firmly. _We've said that lie too many times in the past for it to become truth._

“Fine. Have it your way then,” Jasper said as she let go of Lapis and rose up to draw her sword from its sheath on her waist and brought it down forcefully causing a large slash on Lapis to appear from the right of her chest down to the left side of her pelvis.

“Ah!” Lapis screamed. She then curled up into a sobbing ball to try to keep in as much blood as possible. “Why did you do that? I’m supposed to get a trial!” she wailed in pain.

“Like I said you’ll just take up rations and you don’t have any information anyway. Besides, it’s not like anyone back home cares if you’re dead.” Jasper motioned to the people who stood behind her to unlock Lapis from the chains on the wall.

“Forgive me, my Captain, but we already wrote down in the records that we captured her,” the first mate pointed out.

“Destroy the records then.”

“And ruin your personal record by admitting that you couldn’t find a rebel that you said you could track with no problem?”

“We’ll just say she was sick and died on the journey home,” Jasper replied with a wave of her hand. Lapis was still on the ground trying to block out the pain and keep the blood from pouring out of her wound. Jasper watched her with an almost bored expression, “Toss her overboard I’m sick of looking at her.”

The two wordlessly picked up the struggling Lapis and brought her up to the main deck where no one paid them any mind and threw her over the side of the ship to the dark cold water below. The stinging of the salt water was immediate and painful as Lapis tried her best to swim and keep her head above water.

The pain got to her quickly and soon it was too hard to keep afloat so she took a deep breath in an attempt to stay above the water, but continued to sink further into the depths. In the long run though she knew it didn’t really matter how long she stayed above water the sharks could reach her in a matter of minutes anyway.

As she drifted down further and further she felt her lungs burning and she looked up to see Jasper’s ship slowly creeping away. Everything was starting to get dim and fuzzy so she closed her eyes to let the darkness consume her completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis had done many unexpected things in her life and one of them was waking up after that. Her head was pounding and all of her limbs felt heavy and almost unresponsive. _This feels like the worst goddamn hangover I’ve ever had._ It would have felt like a bad hangover if not for the burning and pain coming from her noticeably exposed torso.

When Lapis opened her eyes the first thing she noted is that she wasn’t dead and rotting in hell, but that the ceiling of this place was made out of stone and had little blue glowing crystals imbedded in it. She also noted that she was laying on the floor of the cave from the sand grains and small pebbles digging into her skin. _Alright, so I’m somehow in a cave and I don’t have a shirt. Still have my pants though, first time for everything._ Lapis tried to sit up, but the pain caused her to immediately fall back down on the floor of the cave. _Fuck. Not a good idea to do that. Guess I’ll need to look around from here._

Moving her head around she noted that the cave she was in was pretty large and had a ceiling height of at least ten feet. The rock walls were a dark navy blue color and there were bits of green glowing moss growing on them. From her position she could see that there was a pool of water near the end of the cave a few feet away from her and what looked like a small passage to another part of the cave that was just out of sight.

And...that was pretty much it so far. The cave was pretty barren save for a few stray rocks and other formations of the sort. _Not that I’m not glad to be alive and all but I’m board, cold, and starving._

She contented herself for a while by counting the crystals on the ceiling until she heard disjointed footsteps approach her so she closed her eyes to pretend she was sleeping to see what this person wanted. Lapis felt the presence of another person beside her and the person touched the part of her wound near the bottom of her breast with wet slimy fingers making it burn.

Lapis tried to stay still as best as she could now fearing what the person would do to her if they knew she was awake. The person just kept tracing her wound going lower and lower, but as they did so the burning got worse and it felt as if her wounds were festering and bubbling. Not only that, but Lapis’ fear laden mind brought forward bad memories of many other hands trailing down her.

Finally Lapis couldn’t just sit there anymore. “Get off of me!” Lapis shouted in pain as she pushed herself backwards away from the person. She was now a few inches away from the person who she identified as female with bright green eyes and fluffy short blonde hair.

The maiden looked at her with surprise and then with annoyance when she looked at a metal bowl that Lapis made her drop some distance away from them. The contents of the bowl were on the ground and were a bright green substance that bubbled and sizzled until it disappeared from existence.

Lapis looked up to the maiden. “What was that? Where are we? Who are you?”

She got no answer and the woman just looked at her with a slightly confused face and then she got up and slowly made her way towards Lapis again. Lapis covered her chest with one of her arms and held out her other hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Don’t come any closer to me!” she said in a shrill voice.

The woman sat next to Lapis again and extended her palm so it met Lapis’ and moved them up and down in a sort of awkward handshake. _What? Alright let’s figure this out. It seems like she is either ignoring my words, deaf, or doesn’t understand me. She had a bowl full of strange liquid and was putting it on my wound and she is fully clothed._ Taking more of the woman’s appearance in Lapis saw that she had very pale skin and had freckles on the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She was very thin and was wearing a dark green skirt and a lighter green blouse with sleeves that went down to her elbows and showed a bit too much chest to be deemed proper if they were in Homeland. In short she was a very pretty petite woman.

Lapis came out of her thought to find that the woman was staring at her as well with a bit of an anxious demeanor. “Can you understand me?” Lapis asked. No noticeable response. “Are you deaf?” The woman only blinked and started to draw in the sand next to her. She finished and and motions for Lapis to look at it. _That is definitely written in english. It’s a good thing that I can’t read._ Lapis could only partially make out the sentence and not enough for it to make sense. “I don’t understand. Can you speak?”

Once again Lapis got no response and instead of trying to write something again she got up and wobbled out of Lapis’ sight. “Great. You can only write and I can’t read and I can only speak and read lips and you can’t understand me. Fantastic. Fuck my life,” Lapis ranted aloud.

The woman soon came back with a large book, a small treasure box, and another bowl. She first handed Lapis the bowl which was full of fresh water which Lapis quickly washed down. Then she placed down the treasure chest and picked out a decent size green gem that was cut in the shape of a triangle. She pointed to it and then to the label on the box and then to herself.

 _I still can’t read, but I only know a couple of green gems._ “Emerald?” Lapis asked. No response. “Jade?” Nothing again. _Crap I only know one more._ “Peridot?” Her eyes lit up and she gave Lapis a bright smile. “Peridot’s your name, huh? It’s pretty.”

Then Lapis rummaged through the box to find the gem that she was given her namesake for. She had seen the gem in enough shop windows and plundering adventures to know what it looked like by now. She picked up a decent sized blue and gold speckled gem that was cut in the shape of a tear drop and then gestured to herself like Peridot did before.

Peridot looked at her and then the stone and then the label of the box. She nodded her head with excitement and wrote in the sand again and this time even with Lapis’ lack of skill she could understand.

“Peridot and Lapis Lazuli,” Lapis said with a small smile. Peridot smiled too and finally opened up the book that had been laying there the whole time and it was just full of words. _A Dictionary?_ She flipped to the ‘L’ section and pointed to the one that said Lapis Lazuli and then to the portion next to the word that Lapis assumed would help someone pronounce the word.

She sat there next to Lapis expectantly and Lapis said her own name slowly a few times and Peridot started mimic her mouth movements though not making any sounds. Soon Peridot memorized the correct mouth motions to make Lapis’ name and Lapis memorized what her lips looked like when she said it. _She hasn’t made a sound since I awoke, she must be mute. No matter, a connection is made and I am one step closer to figuring out what's going on with my life._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot speaking

From there they went back to the basics with the alphabet and how to pronounce various sounds. Peridot wrote out letters in the sand and then Lapis would make their sounds so that Peridot would recognize them and practice mouth movements and while she did that Lapis practiced her own writing. _This is a good start, but my head is starting to hurt from this much learning. How long have we even been doing this?_ Even if Peridot already knew how to read extraordinarily well and Lapis could speak the language fluently progress was slow. In the cave there was no way to tell time because the sun didn’t reach wherever they were and there were no clocks. 

Lapis was brought out from her thoughts when she noticed that Peridot was looking at her with concern and had an outstretched hand towards her, but was taking particular care not to touch her. _Must have spaced out again._ Lapis just smiled and gave her a thumbs up to signal to her that she was okay. Peridot pointed back to the letters and started to go through them once again when Lapis signalled her to stop.

“Hungry,” Lapis said. Peridot blinked not understanding. “Eat,” Lapis tried again this time making the motion of putting something in her mouth and patting her stomach to try to get her point across. Peridot’s eyes lit up with understanding and she mimicked Lapis’ mouth movement a few times before rising and stumbling over to the far end of the cave and out of sight.

The fear and adrenaline that had been pumping through Lapis for the past however long she was here was finally wearing off of her. She hadn’t eaten or actually slept (coma sleeps don’t count) since she had been on Jasper’s ship. Not only that but the cave was really damp and Lapis still didn’t have a shirt so she was starting to freeze. At least Peridot didn’t seem to mind that she didn’t have a shirt. _Maybe she’s into men._ _It’s been awhile since I’ve met one of those._

Peridot came stumbling back somehow balancing four metal bowls and not spilling them at all with the way she was walking and set them down next to Lapis. Two of them had fresh water in them and the other two were filled with strange looking raw fish and squid. The squid at least looked normal, but most of the fish looked like something you would see in a traveling freak show because they had dark scales, sharp teeth, and pupiless white eyes.

Peridot was staring at her expectantly waiting for her to take the first bite. “Can we cook it first?” Lapis asked.

Peridot tilted her head and tried to work out what Lapis said.

“Right. I forgot,” Lapis muttered. She didn’t really trust the fish too much so she picked up one of the small squids and placed it in her mouth. It would be rude to refuse a meal from someone who just saved her life and since Lapis was still in her care she didn’t want to offend her. The squid itself was gross, slimy, had a weird texture, and happened to be one of the worst things she had ever tasted. Lapis swallowed it with a shiver and thanked whatever god there was that it wasn’t alive still.

_Oh stars, I think I’m going to puke. How the hell does she-_ Lapis didn’t finish that thought because she saw Peridot pick up one of the fish and bite it’s head off and swallow it eyes, scales, and bones. Lapis looked on horrified as Peridot continued to eat the fish happily and then grabbing another. When Peridot noticed that she stopped eating she looked down at the fish in her hand and offered it to Lapis who hurriedly shook her head no. _There is something wrong with this woman. I have so many questions. I need so much whiskey._

Lapis ate a few more of the squids and drank her whole bowl of water while Peridot ate the rest of their dinner. _Fuck me. I shouldn’t have eaten that shit it could have been diseased for all I know. I really should have offended her._ Peridot looked rather happy though, so Lapis could take a bit of pleasure from that.

Peridot then pushed aside the bowls and pointed to the writing in the sand. Lapis shook her head no and instead shivered and put her hands on her arms to try to show that she is cold. Peridot tilted her head not understanding. Lapis rolled her eyes. “Cold,” she stated. And then she lightly tugged Peridot’s shirt and then gestured to herself. Peridot tilted her head again and mimicked her mouth movement for the word ‘cold’ and then she started to remove her own shirt.

Lapis quickly placed her hand on top of Peridot’s so that she would stop, “No,” she said as she moved her head side to side. Peridot looked at her with a confused face for a moment before she looked like she realized something as she looked down at Lapis’ hand. Peridot nodded and then staggered to the part of the cave that was out of her field of vision.

_I guess she understood what I was trying to say._ Lapis shifted on the sandy floor and tried to ignore that the other woman’s actions made her cheeks dust red and her heart go a little faster than normal. _It has been a while since I’ve done anything like that._ A long while. A big part of Lapis was glad about that especially since she had seen Jasper so recently.

Peridot wobbled back in with so many pieces of clothing in her arms that she could barely hold them all and she made it pretty close to Lapis before she tripped on something. She fell to the ground, but seemed to land safely on top of the mound of clothing with a big ‘pomf’. Lapis inched over as quick as she could to make sure she was okay when Peridot’s head popped up and gave her a huge smile and a thumbs up.

Lapis gave her a weak smile too and she looked over to see what Peridot could have tripped on and she noticed that her long skirt was flipped up a bit so that now she could see her feet. Only she didn’t have feet. What she had was what Lapis could only describe as metal bits and pieces that somehow came together to vaguely resemble human feet. _What the hell?!_

She must have looked pretty shocked because when she looked back at Peridot her smile was a frown and her head was tilted to the side to ask what was wrong. Lapis pointed to her feet and Peridot just blinked for a moment and looked down ashamed with water filling her eyes.

“I want to know what happened and if you’re okay,” Lapis quickly said to try to calm Peridot. Of course it didn’t work because Peridot couldn’t understand her so instead she gently lifted her face up so that she could look into her eyes. This time Lapis didn’t say anything to her, but just put a hand to her heart and then put it on Peridot’s.

It looked like Peridot understood because she gave her a small smile and finally offered some of the clothes that they were laying on. Lapis went through the pile of clothes and noted that some of them looked upper class while others looked like commoner or merchant clothing. They all however looked old and worn with some of them having multiple holes and others feeling brittle or easy to shred.

Finally she picked up a shirt that looked in the best condition which was a black and white horizontally striped t-shirt and slipped it on. She was still a bit cold so she picked up a sleeveless brown jacket to keep her torso a few degrees warmer. While she was going through the pile she noticed that Peridot had brought a few pairs of pants as well. _Perhaps she wants to wash the ones I have on now. These are pretty far past indecent even for my standards._ The ones she had on currently were torn and covered in dry blood.

The best pair of trousers that she could find were a pair of brown pants which were torn so the pant legs only went to above her ankles. It took a while for her to maneuver herself out of her old pants and into her new ones with her injury and she could feel Peridot’s eyes on her the whole time. The few times Lapis looked up to meet her eyes, Peridot seemed to have more of an interested calculating look on her face rather than an embarrassed or lewd one.

It was comforting in a way.

“Thank you,” Lapis said. She knew that Peridot couldn’t understand her, but it still seemed like the proper thing to say. She honestly doubted that she could make it to a bed if Peridot even had one, so she put the clothes back into a large pile and flopped down on it much like Peridot did earlier. _I’ve only been in a small section of this cave, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she had no bed to sleep on._

Peridot looked down at her with mild concern and Lapis just gave her a thumbs up and a yawn. She seemed to understand that and in response she hobbled on her metal feet out of Lapis’ field of vision and back again with what looked like a medium sized rug and a few soft looking curtains. She dropped them on the ground so that her and Lapis could make a semi comfortable sleeping area. They both layed down on the rug when they were done using the extra clothes as pillows and the curtains as blankets. _I am so god fucking tired that I don’t want to question if she normally sleeps on this rug and why._

A few feet away Lapis noticed that Peridot must have dropped one of the curtains when carrying them in and she moved to get up. Peridot lightly put a hand on her arm when she noticed that Lapis stirred and tilted her head. Lapis pointed to the curtain and Peridot pushed her arm lightly as if to say she should lay back down. Lapis did figuring that Peridot would just get up and get it being (presumably) the more able bodied of the two of them.

But Peridot didn’t move to get up she just waved her hand and the curtain dragged itself over them in one swift motion making its metal rings coming up to their necks. Peridot then gave her a nice tired smile and closed her eyes to go to sleep.

Lapis on the other hand felt anxiety and bile bubble in her stomach. _What the fuck was that?_ She stared with wide open eyes at Peridot’s peacefully sleeping face with panicked thoughts swirling in her mind. _God why do you do this to me? Why do you constantly fuck me with a hot iron rod? Okay relax Lapis figure this out. She just magically lifted up that curtain, only eats raw seafood, has metal feet, and lives in a cave. Maybe I’m actually still sinking in the water and the blood loss is making me imagine a beautiful woman taking care of me. Or the alcohol withdrawal is finally getting to me._

Whatever it was Lapis decided that she was too tired to care at the moment especially since she got here Peridot had done nothing to harm her. She shifted herself so she was on the far side of the rug and finally calmed down enough to fall asleep an hour(?) or so later. Her dreams were filled with misery and frightening memories of things she rather not remember. When she awoke she was almost surprised that she wasn’t next to Jasper in her cabin or Peridot wasn’t looming over her in some way.

Instead when she sat up quickly she saw Peridot outside their bed looming over a new book she must have grabbed when Lapis was asleep. She looks over in concern when she heard Lapis get up and waves her hand like she did last night. The bowl that originally held the green goo- _mental note to ask about that_ -dipped itself into the water and then over into Peridot’s hand which she then dabbed a cloth into and went to pat Lapis’ head with it.

_God it was real and it wasn’t a fever dream._ She backed up when Peridot tried to touch her head and her eyes started to dart around to try to look for a suitable weapon. _She has got to be a witch or something that’s the only explanation._ Peridot looked confused and upset at Lapis’ refusal for help and put her hand with the rag down and tilted her head.

‘Eat?’ Peridot mouthed. Lapis shook her head no and tried to move back more. ‘Cold?’ she mouthed again as she began to move slowly to Lapis.

“You’re a witch aren’t you? You’ve been playing with me this whole time. You’re going to eat me or something right?” Lapis said in a panic her voice shaking.

Peridot looked unsure for a moment before she brought the dictionary over and flipped to the back of the book, ‘what’s,’ she started and flipped to another page, ‘wrong?’ she slowly mouthed.

Lapis pointed at the metal bowl and in response Peridot willed it over to her so now it was floating in front of her. “How are you doing that?” Lapis asked slowly.

‘How?’ Peridot repeated back just as slow. ‘I feel it.’

  
“What are you?” Lapis asked using both her voice and hand motions. Peridot only tilted her head not understanding the question. Lapis rubbed her temples to try to sooth her headache, “This isn’t getting us anywhere.” She looked down to the sand and saw the writing in it from yesterday(?) and sighed to herself. _We need to bridge this communication gap immediately._ Lapis pushed the floating metal bowl out of the way and crept to the place they were sitting before and Peridot followed her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot speaking  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

This time when they sat down they only focused on Peridot learning how to mouth words and specific hand motions to represent ones that couldn’t be read on lips. They worked on this for days(?) usually only stopping to eat and sleep. After a while Peridot brought over multiple books from the other part of her cave and showed them to Lapis. All of the books that Peridot had were much like the clothes: old, worn, and water damaged.

During their few breaks Peridot would go around and collect many things from the cave and mix them together in one of her metal bowls according to the book. From what Lapis could tell (the book had pictures) it was a book of potions and remedies. When Peridot was finished mixing she would give Lapis the bowl and it was filled with the same glowing green goop that she had given her the first day(?) she was here.

Peridot took a finger and made a motion that suggested that she should put it on the slash on her chest. _Holy shit this is an actual healing potion._ For many years magical creatures and objects had been becoming something of a rarity. In the old days magic reigned supreme and could be used to harm humans, but now with modern technology and human ingenuity magic could easily be countered.

Not only that but creatures of the past were being hunted at such a large scale that now things like dragons, griffons, chimera, and others were going extinct. Which meant that the magical arts that humans could do were as well because most enchantments and potions needed a portion of a magical beast. The healing potion alone could be worth more than its weight in gold. _This green goop is worth more than my miserable life and I spilled it on the ground like it was dirty mop water._

When Lapis would apply the potion it bubbled on her skin and helped it regenerate faster until it closed completely. It took a lot of the goo because the middle of the slash was deeper than the edges not to mention healing the wound hurt a lot more than receiving it. Sometimes Peridot would need to apply it on for her when the pain got too great. After a few treatments she was almost completely healed and the only thing that indicated a wound was long thin scar.

Honestly, Lapis tried to keep her distance realizing that in the end Peridot could be, and probably was something dangerous. But, during times like that Peridot was always right next to her and ready to help her in anyway possible. She was like a little puppy in a way because of her constant enthusiasm for learning and excitement to see Lapis at all times.

When they slept together on the rug Lapis would try to get as far away from her as possible just in case she would do something to her in her sleep. But sometimes in the middle of their sleep cycles when Lapis would awake due to her memories she would find a bowl of fresh water and pair of green eyes always filled with care and curiosity, but never a big mouth that overstepped its boundaries. When she eventually calmed down enough to slip into sleep she would be a few inches closer to the woman as if her never ending happiness would transfer over to her during the middle of the night.

For one of the few times in her life she didn’t feel like she was in someone’s prison and that someone cared. When Peridot would smile Lapis couldn’t help but smile back most of the time because everything about her felt so genuine.

At one point (Lapis wasn’t sure how much time had passed) she noticed that Peridot started to mix in some of the plants that were growing in the cave and the amount of seafood that Peridot brought out started to shrink.

They were sitting by the rug and the pool of water at the end of the cave one day(?) when Lapis stopped eating and asked, “Do you need to go to the market?” It turned out to be a lot easier just teaching Peridot what sounds went with what word than it was to teach Lapis to read since Peri already knew how to read and was a fast study.

‘I need to hunt,’ Peridot answered. She was also getting so good with her lip movements and hand signals that Lapis could understand her most of the time.

“Hunt? Did we eat all of your stored food?” Lapis asked. _Shit. I have literally not seen another person since I got here. How does she get money and all of these things? Some of them look expensive._

‘Stored?’ Peridot repeated and tilted her head.

“A store can be a place where you buy things, but can also be a thing that you do. Like you store one of those metal bowls in another part of the cave.”

‘Oh, the answer is yes. I am almost out of stored food. I must go hunt later,’ when Peridot spoke in longer sentences like this she said each word slowly and with a lot of concentration.

“Hey, now that we can speak to each other do you mind if I ask you some questions?” Lapis asked almost timidly. She wouldn't admit it, but ever since they got to more complex sentences she had been putting off asking her things. It had been so nice to just exist with Peridot and not worry about the burning questions in the back of her mind. Just their simple interactions made Lapis so uniquely happy that she want to forget that the woman was definitely something dangerous.

‘Of course. Go ahead.’

“Where are we?”

Peridot tilted her head in slight confusion, ‘In my cave. My home.’

“I mean where as in town or country,” Lapis said while pointing to an atlas that was near them.

Peridot nodded and opened the book to a specific page. She studied it for a moment before pointing to a place in the middle of the ocean. _We’re in the middle of the ocean? No that can’t be right we must be on one of those small islands to the right of her finger._

“What do you do for a living?” Lapis asked.

Once again Peridot tilted her head, ‘I do not understand.’

“How do you get the money to buy all of these things?”

‘I do not buy anything. Everything here is something I’ve collected from wreckages.’

 _If she lives on these islands then she must live cut off from the rest of society. That explains why she seems socially stunted and why everything she owns has some sort of water damage._ Lapis nervously played with her hair that had, at some point, grown past her shoulders. “What are you?”

‘What?’ Peridot repeated with a confused face.

“I’m human. What are you? A witch? A shape shifter? Because you obviously aren’t human.”

Peridot opened up her dictionary to clarify the definition of human and witch (she had a hard time finding witch because of the silent ‘t’) and then looked back up at Lapis. ‘I am none of those things. I am not sure what you would call me.’

“Well you look pretty human to me.”

‘I have transformed to look human,’ Peridot said looking away.

Lapis felt herself freeze a bit and her throat get dry, “What do you normally look like?” Peridot said something while still looking away. “Peri you need to look at me when you speak or I can’t understand you.”

‘I’m not sure. I’m almost blind in that form. But I know that I look -------,’ Peridot finished looking more distraught than before.

Lapis really didn’t want to ask her what the last word she said was, but she knew she had to anyway, “Peridot I’m not sure what that last word was. Can you use a different one?” Lapis asked softly.

‘Gross. Scary. Ugly. Any of those.’

“Well, if don’t really know what you look like then how can you know you’re any of those things?” Lapis reasoned. She also gently put her hand on Peridot’s arm to try to comfort her.  

Peridot looked into Lapis’ bright blue eyes with fear and insercurity, ‘Would it be okay if I show you?’

Lapis stared right back into Peridot’s acid green ones with reassurance and certainty, “Only if you want to.”

Peridot nodded and rose so she could wobble to the small pool at the end of the cave. She then started to take off her clothing and remove the metal feet that she had at the end of her ankles. The anticipation and Peridot’s bare body made Lapis’ heart beat faster and paint her cheeks in a red blush. She looked at the pool of water with an unsure face and then back at Lapis, ‘Please don’t be afraid.’

“I won’t I promise.”

Peridot put her stubbed ankles into the water and almost immediately started to change in form. Her lower body morphed first having her legs melt together and become a pale sickly green color coated in scales. Then the white creamy skin on her upper torso turned almost a ghastly grey and now was so thin and flat chested that she looked emaciated to the point that Lapis could clearly see her ribs jutting out. Her hands and arms became the same color while webbing grew in between her fingers and the tips of her fingers became sharp two inch daggers.

Next was her neck that gained three pairs of slits on it as gills while her ears melted into thin fans for fins and then her hair started to transform into tentacle like clear dreads. Peridot’s nose sunk into her face as well now being replaced with two more slits and her eyes became twice their normal size and only showed her milky eye whites. Last but not least was her mouth that now had many thin and sharp teeth in it and protruding out of it.

When Peridot was finished she looked at Lapis one more time and dove into the black water below. _Holy shit she’s a mermaid. A really different looking one too._

It took a long time for Peridot to come back and in that time Lapis had a million thoughts and questions going through her head. A part of her was glad that Peridot was taking a while because if she transformed back immediately Lapis would have bombarded her with questions.

As more time passed Lapis decided that when Peri did get back she would give her some space before interrogating her. Lapis in the meantime busied herself by working on her reading again so they could learn to communicate better. _How the hell could Peridot figure this out by herself?_ After that thought she heard some splashing coming from the pool of water and she ran over to see Peridot’s return.

Peridot came back up and flailed around slightly until she found the ledge so she could push herself out of the water. Lapis not wanting to be a passive body helped pull Peridot out of the water as well. At first Peridot looked at her with her huge white eyes and gave a little hiss before realizing that it was Lapis and calmed down.

When they finally got her out of the water they both laid on the ground and breathed heavily. Now that she was out of the water Lapis could see that like in her human form Peridot lacked lower motor abilities because where a back tail fin should have been there was just empty air. Eventually Peridot began to change in shape once more and became the beautiful woman that Lapis had come to enjoy. ‘Thank you, it is hard to get out by myself,’ Peridot said with a small unsure smile.

Lapis almost missed what she said because she was having a hard time keeping her eyes up and the blush off her face. “Yeah. It was no big deal. So, did you get a lot of food?” Lapis asked because she couldn’t see anything that Peridot brought back with her.

Peridot just shook her head back and forth quickly and about six squids, two nice sized crabs, and a few fish came out. Lapis began to open her mouth but Peridot beat her to it, ‘In that form my hair acts like a jellyfish’s stingers.’ She then put her clothes and her feet back on and put the fish into a bowl so it could be their dinner.

They sat down again where they normally did surrounded by books and their sleeping rug close by. _Thank god that she didn’t show me this when I first came here I probably would have tried to kill her right away._ Especially since mermaids were known for luring many sailors to the water and eating them alive with their sisters. It was a nice thought that Peridot left to go hunting when she could have just as easily eaten Lapis.  

Lapis was startled out of her thoughts when Peridot touched her arm lightly, ‘Thank you for not rejecting me. It means a lot.’

Lapis let Peridot’s hand slide down her arm so she could grasp it in her own. “It’s no big deal. I don’t think that you’re scary, ugly, or gross. Actually I think you’re fascinating” Lapis said back to her.

Peridot’s head tilted for a moment in confusion and unlocked their hands while she flipped through the dictionary again. Lapis waited patiently and felt her own mouth grow into a big stupid grin as she watched Peridot read the definition of the word as if not belive that Lapis would describe her in such a way. She looked up at Lapis with slightly watery eyes and a bright red blush of her own across her pale cheeks for the first time since Lapis started living with her.

Then Lapis slowly went over to Peridot and gently put her arms around her so that if she wanted to she could pull away. She went rigid for a moment before sinking into her further and eventually putting her own arms around Lapis’ back.

As Peridot began to hold Lapis tighter Lapis did the same and started tracing shapes in her back to try to get her to relax. Lapis shifted a bit to be very close to her ear and whispered, “Absolutely the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.”    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely my favorite chapter I've written so far!  
> Thank you for your comments as well they make me happy when I see them!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot talking  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Eventually they broke apart and Lapis noted that Peridot looked a lot better than before her breathing became more regular and her face was only slightly flushed from crying. They both looked at each other with small smiles on their faces as they went back to eating enjoying the comfortable silence between them.

Afterwards Peridot moved to put the metal bowls away and Lapis got up with her, “I’ll help you clean up...I’ve always wanted to see what the rest of your cave looks like,” Lapis said. She had never seen any other part of the cave because up until recently the huge gash that was on her prevented her from moving for too long or they were so focused on communication that they didn’t move from one spot of hours(?). She also had no reason to leave the main entrance of the cave because Peridot put everything they needed in here and everything else she went to get on her own.

Peridot smiled brightly and and lead her behind the wall to another large room and Lapis would like to say that the first thing that drew her eyes was the magical looking water pool, or the mountain of gleaming treasure, or all the old interesting looking objects in the corner. She would like to say that but, “Holy shit you have alcohol! How come you never brought it out?” Lapis said running over to the jugs of whisky.

‘With the potion I did not need to clean your wound with the alcohol,’ Peridot answered.

“You don’t just use alcohol to clean wounds you drink it because it makes you feel good. We’ll drink it after we put these away.” Lapis said as she got up. She picked up the jug with one hand and had the metal bowls in the other, “So where do you put these?”

Peridot lead her to the large magical looking pool of water on one side of the cave that was the same glowing blue color as the illuminating crystals on the ceiling. It was a raised pool that looked almost like a giant bowl itself and Lapis watched as drips of water came from the ceiling and into the waiting pool below. Peridot dragged over a medium sized bowl that was filled with water and already some more metal bowls in them along with what Lapis assumed was her equivalent of soap due to the bubbles. _Hot damn how many of these metal bowls does she have?_

They started to wash the bowl in the cool mineral water with some shredded pieces of cloth and Lapis started to hum an old tune she and many others used to sing in the royal navy. When she finished scrubbing a few bowls she glanced up and saw Peridot staring at her. ‘Sorry for staring, it’s just that your music is so different from what I’m used to.’

“What do you mean? I thought mermaids only sang when they were luring sailors to their death.”

Peridot practiced saying the word mermaid a few times and then responded, ‘Mermaids use a completely different language that is made up of long sounds that you would probably classify as singing. Everyone of my kind has a inborn power, for example mine is controlling metal and singing to lure in food from above is another.’

“That’s pretty cool. What others are there?” Lapis asked.

‘Most common are hypnotic singing and minor control of water. It depends on the individual how strong the power is. The more powerful you are the more important you are.’

“That seems right. What about your power though? Was it common? I’m sure it was useful because many ships and tools are made out of metal now.”

Peridot frowned for a moment before answering, ‘I was the only one who could control metal. I’ve practiced a lot since I’ve been living here. Before I could barely lift a small piece of scrap.’

Lapis hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you don’t mind me asking where is the rest of your family?”

Her frown deepened and her eyes went to the ground, but her head remained straight at Lapis so she could understand her, ‘After I lost my tail I couldn’t swim as well and I already didn’t have a useful power to aid my group. I was useless so they left me behind.’

Her words from yesterday came to the forefront of Lapis’ mind, _she said thank you for not rejecting me._ “Well, you managed to survive without them and look at your powers now! You are definitely not useless,” Lapis said in her defense.

Peridot just looked up at her and gave a short nod. ‘Thank you, Lapis. Would you mind if I asked you a question or two?’

“Of course. Go ahead,” Lapis answered back. _I know it’s only fair that she gets some answers, but I really don’t want her to ask about my dreams or-_

‘How did you get that slash? I’ve never seen an animal who can inflict that.’

 _Shit._ “I was captured by a navy vessel and since I had no information the captain of the ship said that I was of no use and gave me that slash and ordered her crew to throw me overboard,” Lapis answered. She didn’t want to go into her whole history with Jasper unless Peridot asked specifically for it. _It’s hard enough reliving that shit at night._  

Peridot put a hand on Lapis’ leg, ‘I don’t think you’re useless either, Lapis. You’ve been a great help around here and I greatly enjoy your company. It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone to talk to. I do have an additional question about your story.’

 _Shit. She’s totally going to ask why Jasper chose to kill me or something._ “Go ahead.”

‘What’s a navy?’

 _Oh._ “Um. Well it’s a group of ships that are used for battle on the ocean. It’s part of the country's military.”

Peridot tilted her head, ‘Military?’

“Come on Peri you should know what a military is. There was a war about ten years ago in these waters it was Homeland vs. the traitors. Even before then many navy ships have reported coming into contact with mermaids.”

‘Homeland? I do not understand. Last time I was on the surface humans didn’t have the capability to sail out very far.’

Lapis raised a brow, “What do you mean by at the surface? And when was the last time you interacted with anyone?”

‘We are currently about five hundred meters below sea level. At this depth there is no sunlight, so I can not tell you how many seasons I’ve been down here.’

“Five hundred...how is that possible I should be drowning or at least running out of air!”

‘We are in an air pocket which is at one atmosphere of pressure which allows our bodies to function normally. The plants in this cave use the light from the bioluminescent bacteria for photosynthesis instead of the sun, so that's where the oxygen comes from.’

She was going to go on when Lapis interrupted her, “Peri your explanation is nice, but I was practically never in school, so I didn’t get most of that.”

‘School?’

“Let’s have a culture and history talk later, and for now let’s put these dishes away and look around some more,” Lapis sighed as she moved to get up the jug of whiskey secure under one arm.

Peridot nodded and used her ability to carry all of the bowls to a shelf that she had next to her room of stuff. The magnitude of things that Peridot had stored caused the room to look slightly small, but Lapis was surprised to see that the cavern went on pretty deep.  

It looked like an organized mess with what looked like gold coins thrown in one pile, stacks of chests in another, and various metal trinkets that were sorted by size down the length of the cave. It was a mess because there was so much stuff that some piles had been knocked over or were bleeding into others. Not only that but the shelves that she had that held bowls, books, and various other trinkets looked very crudely put together and almost rotting away from salt damage.

Lapis let out a whistle, “God damn Peridot, you sure do have a lot of shit.”

‘I like to bring back whatever catches my eye. Also, those ships usually attract a lot of fish because of the carcasses in them,’ Peridot said. She then went to the gold pile and picked up a gold coin and started moving it around so that it shown in the light. ‘It’s so…------------ shiny,’ she said with a smile and half lidded eyes.

“Holy hell you could buy half of Homeland with this pile of gold,” Lapis said walking over to stand next to Peridot. “How did you not know that we had powerful ships if we’re many miles away from shore and right outside is a ship graveyard?” Lapis asked.

‘Currents drag a lot of things from many other places here,’ Peridot said as she waved her hand to one of the shelves. Lapis walked over to see a pile of flags from various countries when she started to shift through them. There were many flags in the pile one of them being the old Homeland flag with the four colored diamonds on it and another the new one with only three. Mixed into the pile were many other flags of various colors and shapes the only other one she recognized was one of the flags that the traitors used during the war. It was pink and had a beautiful rose in the middle of it as a symbol for the now deceased Rose Universe.

“Neat. Got anything else that’s cool?” she said walking back over to Peridot.   

Peridot pried her eyes away from the coin, ‘If you like this pile of gold then you will definitely like this thing that I got a little while ago.’ Peridot started to wobble away to one of the chests.  

“Yeah sure,” Lapis answered and immediately started to look at the gold and then fell into it. _Ouch! Why the fuck did I do that I just dove into straight up metal._ She rolled out of the pile causing the mound to deteriorate further and sat next to it rubbing her face a bit.

‘Look at this! It’s one of my favorites,’ Peridot said while holding up a gold chained necklace with a huge lightish red stone as the pendant.  

The anxiety and bile that Lapis thought she wouldn’t have to feel anymore while she stayed here started to bubble in her again. She felt her body get cold and the blood leave her face. _MOTHER FUCKER. Okay Lapis that may not be what you think it is._ “How...how long ago did you say you found that thing?” Lapis asked pointing to it with a shaking hand.

Peridot looked mildly hurt at Lapis’ lack of enthusiasm, ‘You don’t like it? I’m not sure how long ago I got it. Perhaps a couple months before you got here?’

Lapis visibly relaxed and slumped her shoulders again. _Alright, so maybe it isn’t hers then. It could be someone else's incredibly large stoned pendant-_ as she thought that the pendant slowly rotated as Peridot held it out to show that it had two big cursive letters on it that read PD. “FUCK!” Lapis yelled in frustration. Then she opened the jug of whiskey and took a long swig, “I guess we do need to go over some historical shit right now,” she said glaring at the necklace.

‘You usually don’t get this loud. Why don’t you like this object, Lapis?’ Peridot asked her face laced with concern.

“About ten years ago my country went to war with some traitors and near the end of the war the traitors killed one of the four rulers of the nation, Pink Diamond. In retaliation the remaining three rulers used the magic in their pendants and a powerful magical spell to dispel most of the traitor’s forces,” Lapis stopped for a moment and took another gulp from the jug, “anyway, now that most of the traitors are taken out the three remaining rulers will stop at nothing to get that back.”

‘So? No one has bothered me for it and it’s not like your kind can reasonably get down here.’

Lapis held up the jug and drank until it became half full, “Before I got here the ship I was on was looking for the pendant as is anyone else traveling the seas for the last ten years. They mentioned that they were almost done with a tracker for that pendant. No matter how far down we are they will find a way to get down here either with their own magic skills or ingenuity.”

‘Lapis? You look like you’re getting worked up,’ Peridot noted in concern.

“I am,” she answered emptying more of the jug, “Since Pink Diamond bore no children there’s a good chance that if the person who brings them that pendant is of suitable class or status they may be the next ruler. In other words the person who gave me that slash could become my new queen.”

‘Oh, well Lapis, we could could get rid of it or-’

Lapis cut her off and handed Peridot the jug, “Can we just forget about it for a minute? Let’s just drink for a little while, okay?”

Peridot looked at Lapis’ watering eyes then down to the jug and then back to Lapis, ‘Sure Lapis. Whatever you want.’ She took a drink of the whiskey and immediately started to cough, ‘Ugh this tastes like rot! Why do you drink this?‘

Lapis gave a weak laugh, “You don’t drink it for the taste you drink it because of how it makes you feel.”

‘It makes me feel gross.’

“It won’t after a little while,” Lapis said as she encouraged the woman to drink again. They took sips and gulps for an immeasurable amount of time.

 

Later Lapis started to gain consciousness, but decided to keep her eyes closed to avoid the light of the ceiling. _God damn this is the third worst hangover I ever had_ . _I must be really off my game if a less than one jug of whiskey took me out._

While her hangover felt pretty brutal she did note for the first time she she started staying with Peridot that she wasn’t freezing when laying in their rug. When she woke up a bit more she opened her eyes and noticed that she had her arms draped around Peridot’s midsection holding her from behind and they were a couple inches away from each other.

 _SHIT. I hope I didn’t do anything stupid last night._ It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she had gotten drunk and slept with someone she probably shouldn’t have (her most notable accomplishment being captain Pearl of the Crystal Gem), but then she noticed that both her and Peridot were completely clothed and calmed down considerably. She racked her brain to try to figure out what they did last night(?). _Right after we drank the rest of that jug we messed around in that object room until we found an old crankable music box she had. We danced for a little while and then decided to go to sleep. Thank God that’s it._

Dance may have been a strong word given how many times both of them fell onto the ground or onto each other, but she remembered them having fun. _Probably a bit too much fun if Peri is still down for the count. Usually she’s up way before me._ Lapis stifled a yawn noticing that she still felt tired even after her minor heart attack and decided to pull herself and Peridot closer together so that Peridot’s back was flush against her front and her face was half in the other woman’s fluffy hair.

 _Fuck it._ Was her last thought before falling back asleep.  


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot speaking  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis woke up later when she felt Peridot start to squirm in her arms, “Mhrr?” she groaned letting Peridot go to stretch her body out.

Peridot turned over and looked at her with tired eyes, ‘Sorry for waking you Lapis, your breath was tickling my neck.’

Lapis sat up on the rug and put a hand to her aching head, “It’s no big deal.”

Suddenly Peridot wrapped her arms around Lapis’ midsection causing them to fall back down on the rug and then looked up at her face with a large smile, ‘You’re very warm.’

A big part of Lapis’ mind was panicking and telling her to push Peridot off her quickly before she did something to hurt her. That part of Lapis steadily vanished due to her logical side reminding her that not only did she just cuddle the woman willingly all night without her consent, but also nothing on Peridot’s huge smiling ecstatic face was any cause for alarm. So Lapis just wrapped her arms around the woman so they cradled her head, “You’re pretty warm yourself.” 

They happily hugged and Lapis noticed that Peridot started stroking her shoulders down to her mid back which for whatever reason calmed her aching head and prompted her to stay in the embrace. It was a minute or two later when they finally decided break contact and get up. ‘What are we going to do?’ Peridot said with a tilted head.  

“I’m-I’m not sure,” Lapis stammered. _What are we going to do? Jasper wasn’t kidding when she said that no one on the mainland would miss me._ She had no family, friends, and was most likely wanted through the kingdom for treason. Lapis would never say it out loud but staying with Peridot had been the best time in her life and she didn’t really want to leave the safety and comfort of her new home.

‘It’s okay we can figure it out later I need to go hunting anyway. I’ll see you in a bit.’ Peridot said as she slowly wobbled over to the pool at the end of the cave, stripped, and dove into the water. _Hm she didn’t transform before diving in. I need to ask her more about mermaids latter._

Lapis decided to go back to their usual learning spot in the cave surrounded by books to try her luck at learning to read again. It was a slow process, but she knew that she was progressing steadily enough. She found it way harder without Peridot’s constant help and encouragement. Not only that but Peridot often kept her focused on her work and without her here Lapis’ mind tended to wander.  

She imagined a life where she could just go back to the mainland with Peridot and sell the pendant for enough gold to buy a small house and perhaps a small boat so they could make their living through fishing. They wouldn’t have to brave the strong currents or storms of the mighty open ocean anymore and Lapis wouldn’t have to worry about running into Jasper.  

The more and more she thought about the details the more and more Lapis started to like the little dream that she thought up. Even if the pendant didn’t fetch them a good price at market then they could use Peridot’s pile of gold to live on until they got a small cart set up to sell their wares. After a little while Lapis had a dopey smile on her face thinking about a life built with her and Peridot on land. _She did ask what should we do. Not me, not her, but we._

Suddenly Peridot’s face appeared in front of her and Lapis jumped back, “Ah!”  

‘You seem to be very happy. Progress on reading going well?’ Peridot asked with a dopey smile of her own. Lapis also noted that she looked much better than when she got up now being more alert and perky.  

“Actually I haven’t made much progress on reading it’s hard to stay focused when you aren’t here. I was thinking about what we should do with the pendant though. I think that-” 

Peridot interrupted her, ‘You should write it out in the sand for practice. It’ll help you learn how to read if you can also write.’ 

“What? No, that’ll take all day,” Lapis complained.  

Peridot just smiled, ‘All day? I don’t see a sun here.’

“Ugh fine,” Lapis groaned. She slowly wrote in the sand that she wanted to go to the mainland and sell the necklace for profit. Peridot was correct when she said that learning how to write would help her reading because now she saw more of the correlation between the sounds and letters. What Lapis was wrong about was Peridot making her less distracted because when Lapis would screw up a letter Peridot would grab her hand lightly and help her trace it out which would distract her.  

It took a long time and a lot of misspelled words for Lapis to finally get her message across but she did and Peridot looked it over. ‘So, you’ll be leaving soon?’ Peridot asked slowly. 

“Well, I was hoping that you would travel with me to shore,” Lapis said unsurely. 

Peridot immediately perked up and excitement bloomed in her eyes, ‘Really?! What will we do once we are on land?’  

 _I doubt she would just want to settle down with me immediately. Um._ “Depending on how much we get for the necklace we can travel for a bit and see some of the different places. On land humans have many settlements that are different so we can see some of those,” Lapis said quickly.

‘Then what?’

“It depends,” Lapis started, “You could come back here or we could settle on land.”

They both sat in silence for a moment, ‘You wouldn’t want to come back here?’

“I-no Peridot. I love it here and I love being here, but I miss the sunlight and eating different foods and interactions with other people. I even miss sailing out on the open ocean. There have to be things you miss about the surface, right?” 

Peridot thought for a moment, ‘I also miss the sunlight and the taste of the fish from above.’ 

“See? Besides, we don’t need to decide now. We can discuss that when the time comes.” 

Peridot frowned not liking that something so important would be left undecided but nodded her head anyway. ‘How would we get to land?’ 

“I was thinking that we go to one of those small islands you showed me in the atlas and flag down a ship and say we are stranded and need a ride back to the mainland. A lot of ships come through this area because it’s a popular merchant route so that shouldn’t be a problem. We need something that conceals its magical signal though incase they have a tracker.”

‘We can look around in the back for something like that. Do you think there is anything else we need other than the pendant?’

Lapis nodded, “Probably a satchel full of gold coins just in case the pendant doesn’t fetch a high enough price so we can travel around comfortably. There are other random things we should bring as well. I’ll look around for that stuff.”

‘We should start to get ready to leave then, other than that stuff I need to make a few potions so you can get out of here safely.’

“What type of potions will you be making?” Lapis asked.

‘Underwater breathing, healing, and a body modifier potion so out can withstand the pressure outside the cave. Since I need to make them from scratch it may take some time.’

 _I’m kinda glad we’re not leaving right away._ “What do you think we should do first?”

Peridot smiled at this and brought out four metal bowls two filled with water, one filled with edible plant life, and the last empty. Then she shook her head so some fish and other aquatic animals fell out and into the bowl, ‘Let’s start with eating.’

After they ate they went to do their separate tasks Peridot making the potions and Lapis getting the satchel of gold and looking through Peridot’s things to see if they need anything else. Every once and awhile Lapis would look over to the other side of the cave and just watch Peridot make the potions. She was interesting to watch because anything that she did she put in maximum effort and focus into to be the most efficient.

She found a lot of cool things while rooting through Peridot’s room like how each one of the chests had different stored contents in them ranging from magical items to preserved food items like pickles and peaches. _I’ll take these things out to the main area for later._ After a few hours(?) they converged again back to the main room.

Peridot set up for dinner with the usually water and seafood while Lapis brought out the preserved peaches. Peridot gave the jar an uncertain look, ‘Is this like the alcohol because this morning when I woke up I felt sick.’ 

“No, no. It’s a jar of preserved peaches which is a fruit from land put in a special liquid so they don’t rot as fast. They’re good!” As Lapis said that she popped open the lid of the jar and fished out some bits of peaches and crammed them in her mouth while savoring the first sweet tasting thing she’d had in awhile. She looked up and saw Peridot looking at her with mild disgust. “Come on Peridot you need to try it. When we’re on land there are a lot of different foods and you’ll need to eat something other than raw seafood.”

Peridot picked up some of the peach and quickly stuffed it in her mouth. _Shit she totally looks like she’s going to throw up all over the place._ To Lapis’ surprise as Peridot started to chew the peach her face lost some of its hardness and actually looked like she was enjoying the food at least a little bit.  

“Good?” 

‘It has an...interesting flavor. It has the same texture as a squid which makes it easy to swallow. Are all human foods like this?’ 

“No, in fact regular peaches aren’t like this usually. The ones that I’ve stolen were always juicy and hard. Human food have many other textures and flavors and most of the meat that we eat is cooked rather than raw. When we get up there you can try out all the food you want,” Lapis ended with a laugh. They ate their dinner with Lapis eating most of the peaches while Peridot tried a few to try to get used to a human food. “Damn Peri, you ate all the squid.” 

‘Oh, my apologies. There is still some fish of you want.’ 

Lapis glanced down at the bony raw odd looking fish and felt her stomach turn, “No, I’m good.” Peridot frowned and started to cough and heave repeatedly. _Oh shit she might actually be getting sick from the peaches._ “Peridot, you doing okay?” As soon as Lapis finished asking Peridot coughed up a portion of partially digested squid into her hand and then held it out to her with a smile. Lapis didn’t move to take the squid.

‘Here you go!’ Peridot said as she tried to give Lapis the squid again.  

Lapis almost missed what Peridot said too focused on regurgitated squid in her hand, “Why did you just do that?”  

‘You wanted squid, right? I have provided!’ Even if Peridot really couldn't yell or be exclaimed Lapis could see the excitement and pride oozing out of her face as she tried to give her the squid.  

 _This is so gross, but she looks so happy about it._ “Peridot, humans don’t really share food like that. Most people find it umm not clean and not proper to spit up your food.”

Peridot looked down at the squid and ate it again- _ew_ -and looked at Lapis with a slightly disappointed face. Once dinner was over they got ready for sleep once again and they summarized their day, “I got the satchel ready and I found a nice metal container that should mask the pendant’s magic. I’m also considering bringing extra clothing, but I’m afraid it might weigh us down when wet. Not to mention we need to figure a way to get your feet up to the surface,” Lapis said. She pushed the clothes and the curtain so they were in a more comfortable position and laid down under the blanket.

Peridot took off her feet and made her way under the blanket as well. ‘I’ve finished three healing potions so far and I’ve gathered enough ingredients to make about two of underwater breathing. The modifier potion will take a while. I’ve never made it before and I’m not sure if I have enough ingredients to do many tests on it. Perhaps the tracker you spoke of isn’t even done yet, hopefully we have some time before they start looking down here.’

Lapis frowned, “Or they are five hundred meters above us as we speak.”

They let the conversation die after that and faced each other in silence for a while not closing their eyes to go to sleep, but not making any more moves to talk either and in that time Lapis started to shiver a bit. _God Damn I forgot how cold this rug is when you’re not pressed up against someone._  

Peridot shivered herself and yawned before scooting a few inches in front of Lapis and in response Lapis shifted a few inches back. Peridot looked mildly annoyed and moved to be closer to Lapis and once again Lapis moved away.

‘Why don’t you want to be next to me?’ Peridot asked this time looking mildly hurt.

“You know that I get nightmares and I flail in my sleep.”

‘You didn’t last night and even the last few nights.’

“I was unconscious drunk which is the only time I’m guaranteed a good night sleep. Which reminds me I that you still have a couple jugs of whiskey I could break into so I can sleep easy tonight.” Lapis moved to get up when Peridot grabbed her arm in response making Lapis quickly pull her arm away.

They just looked at each other for a moment until Peridot spoke up, ‘Lapis, today while I was making potions I read a few of my books that detailed humans and it said that stuff can be bad for you an excess.’

“Water can be bad for you in excess,” Lapis grumbled.

‘You’re supposed to have water everyday not alcohol,’ Peridot responded quickly.

“How do you know for sure that book could be wrong.”

‘I just don’t want you to get sick and I know you felt just as bad as I did this morning.’

“You don’t need to tell me what I should and should not be doing. I’m a 33 year old goddamn adult. I know how to survive by now.” Lapis got up to go to the other room anyway not turning to see if Peridot had anything else to say. When she got to the jugs she stared at them critically. Her face felt like it was on fire and her head hurt from holding back slight tears as she tilted her head back and drank. _I just want to sleep tonight. She just doesn’t understand._

She drank half the jug before she felt the bile in her stomach swirl and rise up and she had to stop. When she went back to the rug she fully expected Peridot to be asleep and turned away from her much like Jasper used to when she would get up in the middle of the night to drink. When she got back however she saw Peridot sitting up and waiting for her to return with sad eager eyes.

She tilted her head, ‘Did it make you feel better?’

Lapis was taken back by the question, “I...yes.” _No._

‘Okay. Would you like to go to sleep now?’

 _This feels so wrong. So different._ “Yes.”

Peridot went back under the curtain blanket and flipped the corner of it over to beckon Lapis over to come lay with her. _Almost like a siren._ Lapis laid down facing Peridot again on the rug. ‘Do you think that we can hug and sleep now?’ Peridot asked and went to stroke her arm.

Hot flashes went through Lapis and a hard hoarse voice from her past invaded her mind. _Why would you like to go to sleep now when we can do things like hug or have some fun..._ a hand caressed her skin... _But I’m having fun. So you should be too._ Lapis could feel herself shaking and the tears from before were finally spilling out.

‘Lapis, --- you -------?’ Peridot asked but the tears obscured Peridot’s mouth movements.

Lapis could still guess what she asked and she went to get up again, “I just need to have more to drink. It wasn’t enough.” She got up and wiped her eyes away and instead of walking away immediately this time she looked for Peridot’s retort.  

‘I think we should talk about this first.’ 

“Talk about what exactly? You already said that you think I shouldn’t drink,” Lapis said with fake anger.

Peridot hesitated for a moment, ‘I read in another one of the books that humans are very comforted and receptive to touch, but you seem to be the opposite. Lapis, why are you always afraid of me?’

The shaking increased and the tears were hot and still flowed down her face. _She deserves to know._ “I’m not sure how it works in your culture, but I’ve had many partners in my life,” Lapis paused for a moment to collect herself.

‘What kind of partners?’ Peridot asked.

“Romantic partners. Ones who you are working together with to build a life and who you are physically intimate with,” Lapis paused again to see if Peridot understood. When she nodded Lapis went on, “A lot of these partners that I had weren’t the best to me and the worst was when I was with a woman named Jasper. We would get in a lot of fights. A lot of them physical and they left a lot of memories that I don’t want to see again.”

Her tears were starting to get so bad that she couldn’t really see Peridot anymore and she stopped her story for a few minutes and sobbed. Usually she didn’t get this bad, but alcohol always heightened her emotions, so most of the time she drank enough to knock herself out.

Eventually she calmed down and just stared at Peridot. _She’s so pretty and she’s so nice and she’s so different from Jasper. She makes me feel like I’m a person again and not just a sack of meat to gain some sort of pleasure from. The only other person who was ever this kind to me was Steven._ Peridot looked like she was about to say something when Lapis tackled her in a bear hug.

“We fought so much and she would do bad things to me and-and sometimes I would do them back to her too. I was just as terrible as her and for the longest time we couldn’t leave each other. We were together for years and she gave me a better life in the navy than I could ever get on land and-and-and-” Lapis knew she was rambling but she didn’t care she was just glad she could finally talk about this to someone.

Peridot accepted the hug and stroked her back soothingly like she did in the morning and Lapis hugged her harder and incoherently sobbed in her ear. Even though Peridot couldn’t talk to her directly Lapis still felt her breath and occasionally her lips meet her ear indicating that Peridot was still trying to comfort her through speech.  

After a long time Lapis finally calmed down and they fell asleep wrapped in each others arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright two things about this chapter.  
> 1\. I apologize on my part looking back I really should have set up Lapis wanting to leave the cave more to make it less like a decision out of no where. But, I guess that's what you get when you post chapters as you go and I'm not going to go back and fix it.  
> 2\. They were totally going to leave the cave this chapter, but then I began writing and most of this chapter wasn't planned. I didn't want this to be 5k words.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot speaking  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

When Lapis woke up she decided that she felt worse than when she woke up yesterday(?). She had a partial hangover and she felt gross from all the sweating and crying she did last night. _Letting my feeling get the better of me is gross in itself. I’m probably going to owe Peridot more answers when she decides to get up as well. Ugh._

Lapis started to think of the conversation to come. _I don’t know how mermaids work maybe they mate for life or it’s against their religion to have multiple partners or something. What if she thinks I’m too dirty for her? Or what if she decides that I’m too much trouble to keep around with my mood swings and other problems?_ She felt her heart beat faster in her chest and her hold around Peridot tighten to try to draw some of the comfort the woman usually gave her. She heard herself make a small noise she would usually call pathetic as these thoughts and many like them were swirling around in her head. Then she felt Peridot’s arms caress the top of her back soothingly like she did yesterday(?). “I’m sorry for waking you Peridot,” Lapis said in a quiet voice.

While she couldn’t see Peridot’s reply she could feel her snuggling into her chest further and feel her steady breath as she rubbed her back. “Thanks for this.”

Peridot pulled away slightly so she could look up and see Lapis’ face. ‘Of course,’ Peridot said with a smile. ‘I hope you’re feeling better.’

Though those words were almost hauntingly similar to her words last night, but Lapis gave her a small smile back. “I am. Sorry for dumping all that emotional stuff on you last night.”

‘It’s okay, Lapis. You’re allowed to express your emotions they don’t bother me.’ As she said this her hands started to press slightly into Lapis’ back along with her normal motions making Lapis relax further.

Lapis then let out a breathy sigh. “Thanks, Peridot.”

They settled into a small routine where after breakfast they would go on their separate tasks. Lapis would rummage through the back room and Peridot would attempt to make the all the potions she assigned herself with. When they would start to get tired Peridot would go out hunting and Lapis would practice her reading. While Peridot was out Lapis would still go and drink a small amount whisky to calm her nerves so they could sleep peacefully at night even though this practice would often make her feel guilty. At dinner when Peridot got back with the food she could have sworn that she would give her sad glances, but she never asked Lapis about it.

After dinner they would get ready for bed and on the rug and tell each other stories about their lives before they met and drift off to sleep. Lapis didn’t tell her all about Jasper after the night she got drunk or the next or even the one after that. For a while they told each other the less heavy things about themselves.

Lapis’ favorite was Peridot’s story about how she discovered she had her metal powers and earned a clan necklace made from kelp and shells that showed that she was useful to the clan. She learned that Peridot was 144 when she first discovered that she had those powers and she used to make small weapons to kill fish more efficiently with them which boosted her social standing. Peridot looked so happy telling the story that Lapis would often ask her details about it or ask her to tell it again. She was always careful though to stick to that topic because any other question on her family and Peridot would almost shut down.

In turn Lapis told her how she fell in love with the ocean when she was young because of an unknown draw she always felt to it. That when she wasn’t out trying to find her next meal or con someone out of money she would sit on the beach and collect shells as the tide went out. Some of her time in the royal navy and sailing out in the sea by herself were part of the best times of her life. They exchanged small stories like these for hours while avoiding the darker ones.  

To Lapis’ surprise it was Peridot who broke the somewhat lighthearted talks about their lives first. It was during the time when Peridot was trying to create the body modifier potion. Like most of her things the potion book had water damage, so some of the words were hard to read and even some pages were missing. That would mean that sometimes Peridot would just need to guess what went into them and hope she got lucky.

In the beginning Peridot couldn’t even keep it in a proper liquid form and she had to patch her metal cauldron multiple times due to dents and holes caused by small explosions. Later on Peridot experimented her less volatile creations with a dead fish and they would implode on themselves with the pressure of outside the cave.

During those times Lapis was really glad that the other woman perfected the healing potion long before she came here.

It was her second failed attempt that day and Peridot just stopped.. With Lapis done collecting essential items she would focus on learning how to read and write and coming up with more details about their life on land. When she looked up and saw Peridot still she knew immediately there was a problem because she was always moving or putting all of her attention on something. She looked like she was holding herself up with only her arms on the cauldron and she just stared at her reflection in the ice blue sparkling liquid

Lapis called over, “Peridot you okay over there?” Not only did Peridot not answer her she didn’t even turn to her as if she didn’t even hear her. After a moment Lapis got up and walked over to the other side of the cauldron. She then put her hand on the other woman’s chin to lift her head up gently so that their eyes met. “Peridot,” Lapis started slowly, “Are you okay?”

‘I can’t do this. I’ve messed up too many times. I’m holding us back,’ Peridot said eyes quickly becoming wet.

“Hey, hey it’s okay Peri. You need to make a potion that you’ve never made before and you have no idea what goes in half of it,” Lapis said to try to comfort Peridot.

‘It’s been too long though. I’ve never had this much trouble making a potion before.’ She closed her eyes letting a few tears slip out and started to shake.

“Peridot it’s okay you’ll figure it out eventually.”

‘Eventually isn’t good enough! We need to get out of here soon and I’m the one keeping us here.’

“Listen, I would rather you perfect the potion before I use it anyway.”

‘I know it’s just that I feel so useless and uselessness gets killed and forgotten.’

“What? Peridot where did that thought come from?” The only time she had ever seen Peridot speak that way was a while ago when she spoke about how her family left her behind... _oh._ “Come on Peri, look at all the things you’ve already done. You sure as hell aren’t useless.”

Peridot looked up at Lapis with sternness, ‘In my culture it doesn't matter what you’ve already accomplished. If you stopped doing things that benefit the group then you aren’t needed anymore and are therefore worthless.’

“Even if they are family?”

Peridot nodded.

“So social ties mean nothing to you?”

‘Social bonds are necessary for the group, but they are not a priority. Even before I was handicapped the group was thinking about getting rid of me.’

 _Alright, Lapis. You can either ask her about this making both of us truly committed to each other’s problems or you can just let it go here._ She took a deep breath and made the obvious choice. “Peridot, would you like to take a break and talk about it?”

Peridot looked at her with mild surprise, nodded and they went back to the main room and sat down on the rug. ‘They way our groups are set up is much different than the human societies that I have read about. We usually have a group of less than twenty individuals lead by a leader who is the only one who is allowed to mate with whoever she pleases.’

“Wait, she? How do you guys breed with only females?” _I kinda just assumed that they had no males and used some kind of magic._

‘A leader is born a traditional female, but as the needs to the groups change she can too. If a previous leader dies or becomes weak another member of the group can become what you think of as a male and take her spot. Or a free roaming mermaid can defeat a leader and take over a group.’

“Oh shit that means you can turn into a man?!” Lapis exclaimed.

Peridot looked mildly annoyed and continued on with her explanation not answering Lapis’ question, ‘Only the leader and a few select females breed because it takes so long to raise the offspring to adulthood. Not only that, but survival conditions need to be right so production of offspring need to be carefully planned. In my group there was sixteen individuals including one leader, ten of age females, and five underage females me included. I was the oldest at 168 and was the last child of our previous leader. From what I can tell my species lives longer than yours and ages about ten times slower.’

“Alright. What happened to your father?”

‘She was older at 623 and was getting sick when she sired me. When I was about 97 she was overthrown by a wandering outcast. But, I was already too old to reasonably kill and my mother was getting ready to be able to breed anyway so she spared my life. It was amazing that I made it so close to adulthood in the group though. Even with my tail I wasn’t the best swimmer, I’m small compared to everyone else, I wasn’t as attractive as the others, and I had the worst power in the group.’

Lapis started to feel uneasy, “So? You still survived. Besides you’re human form is beautiful and why would you all need beauty if you lived down here most of the time where there is no light?”  

‘We lived in the shallow warm waters of above. I used to be what you think of as a beautiful mermaid when I lived with them.’

“How is that possible?”

Peridot opened her mouth and told her story.

 

The water was a bright blue and a comfortable temperature around her thin body. She had lime green tail scales, bright green eyes to match, and hair that mimicked the color of a moray eel and her pale skin didn’t hide the multitude of scratches, old wounds, and jutting out bones from the world around her. She hadn’t eaten in a week or two because food was starting to become scarce as the temperature of the air above them started to get colder. Whatever food was obtained only went to Leader, the nursing mothers, and the smaller offspring.

Even when they hunted a good portion of food she often survived on scraps and pity.

Right now they were resting in the safety of the giant star’s bright light because they needed to wait until it was dark to see the map of the smaller stars in the blackness above them. Most of the older females were suspended in the warmest parts of the water and grouped their children together to be near the younger females who had no offspring yet. They sang low songs telling the young ones to stop pestering them and go play a small distance away so the mothers could get much needed rest.

She longingly looked to the center of the group where Leader and her mother were swimming around each other playfully. Mother’s golden tail reflecting light her equally golden eyes and hair never leaving Leader’s gaze as they danced. When Leader eventually caught her mother she bit her on the neck a few times softly and stroked the length of her mother’s back tenderly. They were clearly in the middle of the courting process which they would complete when the air above started to return to warm.

She was the greatest in distance away from the rest of the group because she knew that Leader would chase her away if she got too close to her offspring or even the older offspring less females. Loneliness settled into her chest. Usually no one came over to her because of Leader’s aggressive displays and for the last thirty years she no longer had to be by her mother’s side. She gave out a low wine that wasn’t meant to go far, but seemed to reach one of the offspring’s ears.

The offspring looked over to her and then to one of the females who was supposed to be watching her and once she saw that the female was busy the offspring swam over to her while performing small spins and loops. When the young one came closer to her she saw that it was the one deemed Prismarine by Leader.

Prismarine was a pretty young one at the age of 52 with shimmering scales of crystal blue, dark brown skin, and bright purple eyes like an acropora thriving in a well nutrient reef. Around her neck and tangled in her blood red mane was a shard of prismarine and bits of shells that were held together with kelp signalling that she had found her power. She was very proud of the young one’s ability to control water at her will.  

The small one gave her welcoming clicks as she swam around her in fast circles until landing in her arms. She gave out her own happy clicks as she snuggled her little cousin in her arms and lightly started to stroke the top half of her back. Prismarine was the only member of the group other than Mother to occasionally interact with her.

When they unlocked from embrace Prismarine started to comb her unruly blonde hair with her webbed fingers and gave up after a few minutes and then went in front of her so she could do the same. She worked with the young one’s hair somewhat clumsily from being out of practice grooming another. Soon she made Prismarine a lovely braid weaving in pieces of seaweed and coral that she collected from the last reef that matched her eyes. She finished and Prismarine let out a high pitched noise and swam up to nuzzled her head.

Then a loud angry grunt echoed through the water from far away and by the time it registered to her what that sound was she was knocked back from Prismarine, stunned, and in pain. Prismarine gave a sharp noise of alarm causing the rest of the group to start to close in on them to see what was happening.

Leader floated directly in front of her in the most intimidating way she had ever seen her. The giant was three times her size and had no extra fat on her anywhere as if all sustenance went to building a being of pure muscle and power. Leader’s red scaled tail flared and she bared her sharp teeth and advanced slightly on her. She backed up sharply to avoid jagged nails from tearing her skin.  

The group came closer to find out why Leader was attacking her, some looked at her with slight pity and others with a type of look that said they were finally done waiting for her to leave. Those were the ones who after a moment began to flare their own fins and migrate to a familiar hunting pattern. She knew that she wouldn’t live to see another salmon spawning or seasonal sardine hunt. She was too weak and too slow to be able to swim away without her family gutting her.

But suddenly another cry of alarm came from one of the older mothers to indicate danger was near. Everyone looked at her as she pointed specifically right below them. They all looked down to see a giant grey beast that was gliding near the depth where light no longer shown. It looked like it was just passing by until it turned and started to circle the group.

The group itself went into a panic and started to swim frantically near the surface and clumped together to make them seem like a bigger animal. As Leader turned away to join them she hit her with her powerful tail painfully as a clear signal that she wasn’t wanted.

She floated frozen in the middle of the open clear water and closed her eyes and accepted her fate. There was no way she could outrun the monster that was circling below her and she had no family to help her. She still heard her family making noises and she couldn’t figure out why her family continued to stay because if they just abandon her now they would just be able to escape safely as the beast shredded her.

Then she felt a small body cling to her torso. Her eyes snapped open and looked down in surprise to see Prismarine latched onto her and not with the group like she was supposed to be. She frantically made distressed clicks and tried to pull the the young one off of her and encourage her to go to the group, but as she looked down to survey the situation she saw it was almost too late. It was swimming straight up at them with a speed greater than she could ever manage its mouth open letting her see the serrated coral bleached teeth coming up towards them.

She was afraid of the beast chasing them and afraid for the small life clinging to her in her arms. Even though she knew that she could never outrun it she swam diagonally as fast as she could near the surface of the water and slightly away from the group. At the last moment she turned away quickly so it would breach the water giving her a few precious moments to swim towards the group again.

They were almost there when a loud splash from above indicated that it was back in the water and back to chasing them. Finally she got Prismarine’s claws off of her and pushed her away as strong as she could to the group and then turned to meet the beast head on. Another member of the group snatched a wailing Prismarine and placed her in the middle of the family mass.

Her attack had little to no effect on it as it turned quickly and caught her tail in its gaping mouth and started to drag her down into the blackness below with great speed. It was trying to bring her down so fast that her body wouldn’t be able to adjust to the pressure and temperature causing her to either freeze or implode in on herself. In a last ditch effort to avoid a painful death she pulled out a small metal object that she crafted and plunged it into the white underbelly of the animal.

She used the extent of her weak arms and powers to carve into it causing a cloud of red to disperse into the clear water. She began to feel cold and lightheaded when she pulled out the entrails of the monster causing it to slow. Finally she twisted her body around to use the object to pierce its nose and dislodged her tail from its mouth so she could slowly make her way to her family. She was a lot slower than before and her body was in an odd state of searing pain from blood loss, her tail, and horrible vertigo.  

Leader started making loud threatening grunts at her again swimming towards her with teeth and claws bared and ready to attack once more until Mother scratched her arm quickly. Leader looked at Mother with a surprised angry expression and gave her loud grunts. In response her mother gave a low hiss and swam over to her. Mother ran webbed fingers through her short blond hair and brought her hand to her cheek which she snuggled her face into.

Mother then removed the shell necklace from her neck and they touched foreheads for the last time. Her mother then left her side and swam back to her old group and gave the necklace to Leader which was accepted with an almost happy sound and turned away to lead the group to their next location. Prismarine was the only member of the group to look back to her before disappearing into the distance.

She felt colder than she ever did in her life as she watched them go. Looking down she saw that her tail was almost completely hanging off of her and had no hope of healing. She was sure that it was only a matter of time before more monsters with sharp bleached teeth would come to devour her. Slowly she made her way to to the relative safety of the black below.

 

Lapis just looked at Peridot incredulously, “Holy shit! You fought a shark head on, killed it, saved a child, and they still kicked you out of the pack!?”

Peridot nodded and smiled a bit at Lapis’ face and outburst. ‘They were going to kill and probably eat me before when Leader started to get aggressive. Mother convinced Leader to spare me after I saved Prismarine.’

Lapis swallowed, “Eat you?”

‘I know cannibalism is frowned upon in your culture, but when food is scarce it’s not uncommon for a group to eat its least important member or more commonly rival groups they come across.’

“What happened after that?”

‘Soon after I cut off the remainder of my tail because it caused me great pain and made me move even slower due to drag. Food was better down in the darkness than in the open ocean where I was exposed, so I started to live down here and my body steadily adapted to it’s surroundings. I lived in complete darkness for a long time until I found this cave and started living in here.’ Peridot looked absolutely exhausted and just fell over and curled up on Lapis’ lap.

“This has been an emotionally draining day for you hasn’t it?” Lapis asked softly as she started combing Peridot’s hair soothingly. Peridot sighed with content as she just let Lapis stroke her and after a few minutes Peridot went to get up. “Where do you think you’re going?” Lapis sternly asked.

‘I need to finish the potion. I’ve had a long enough break.’ She dusted her clothes off and went to stumble away

Luckily for Lapis she was faster and fast walked in front of her to block the other woman’s way. “No, I think you’re done for today. Let’s just take another break.”

Peridot squinted her eyes in an accusatory manner, ‘You just don’t want to continue your reading, don’t you?’

“Perhaps.” Lapis gave a flashy smile and a playful grin, “I know something else that we can do that’s way more fun.”

‘Oh? What would you like to do?’ Peridot asked starting to bounce a bit.

“I was thinking that before we go up to land we should work on your walking.”

‘What’s wrong with my walking?’

“You can walk just fine, but we’ll be on land and around people and on a ship where there won’t be stable ground. I’ve noticed that your feet don’t look like normal feet either.”

‘So I come up with a better foot design? How is that fun for you?’

Lapis just kept grinning as she brought out the music box again, “Here we go. You learn how to walk better, we dance for a bit, and we have a little party to end the day. Sound good?” Peridot hesitated but nodded anyway. The problem was that Peridot still had everything up to her ankles so for the most part she only needed the feet for balance.

Lapis watched up close as Peridot showed her how the components of her feet moved so when she walked they sprung back up so she didn’t always need to use her powers to walk. She explained to Lapis that she wills them to change in shape slightly when she is running, walking, jumping, and everything in between.

They poured over an anatomy book and Peridot used Lapis’ feet for reference so she could get as close as possible so if need be they could pass her feet off as regular prosthetics and not some miracle of magic that would make others question her. After what felt like hours of fine tuning and practice Peridot had almost a flawless stride. ‘Not bad for someone who's never had feet, eh?’

“Now for the true test,” Lapis said as she cranked the music box. She walked up to Peridot and placed her hands on her upper torso and slid them down to her waist. Peridot blushed and wrapped her arms around Lapis’ neck. They followed the slow music and swayed to an old love song that Lapis didn’t know all the words too, but could hum anyway. Lapis had to admit to herself that she was jealous of Peridot’s ability to just sit down and learn something in a short amount of time and perfect it.

They swayed, spun, and Lapis even dipped Peridot a few times and laughed at her surprised expression. The music box that she had was big and ran on multiple discs so the owner could change them out and play different songs. They danced to most of the discs that Peridot had and moved around the cave.

The box was coming to a slow stop because it needed to be cranked again, but Lapis just held Peridot in her arms as she snuggled into her chest. Lapis looked down at the small girl cradled in her arms with half lidded eyes and a unfamiliar warm feeling spreading through her chest. _This is pretty great. Who knew that Jasper almost killing me would lead me to one of the best people in my life._

“Peridot,” Lapis started. Peridot lifted her head from her chest expectantly her own eyes half lidded and relaxed. “I just wanted to say that-ah!” Suddenly they were falling and splashed into the dark pool at the end of the room. Lapis clung to Peridot as they fell into the water started to sink into it fast. Before she knew it she was back out of the cold salty water and not only was she out of the water she and Peridot were floating above it. She also couldn’t move. Then they floated above the sandy ground and were placed down gently. As soon as she could Lapis got onto all fours and started to shiver as she coughed up water, “How did you do that? I couldn’t move.”

Looking over to Peridot she saw that her breathing was harder than normal when she used her metal powers. ‘There is metal in your blood that I can use too. I was unprepared to use it though.’

 _Peridot can pretty much control people by using their blood. Noted._ “Damn that water is freezing. You sure I won’t die from being cold?” Lapis asked somewhat jokingly.

‘You may if we stay down there too long and if the pressure doesn’t kill you first.’

Lapis ignored the serious answer and posed another question, “Hey, how come you didn’t transform when we were in the water?”

‘I can transform at will. I probably should have changed though, my powers are stronger in my other form,’ Peridot added absentmindedly.

“Neat,” Lapis said as she took off her clothes so they could dry off. “Another quick question: what keeps a you or another fish from dying from the change of pressure?”

‘Most often an animal is adapted to the environment they are born in. But, fish have this adaption called a swim bladder that lets them adjust to pressures in the water at will. I use one when in my other form.’ Suddenly Peridot sprang up and ran to the other side of the wall.

“Peridot?! What are you doing?” Lapis yelled and then chased after her.

‘Lapis I think you helped me figure this out!’ Peridot started frantically throwing things into the cauldron and carving up any fish that she had. She kept mouthing more things but she was talking so fast and not facing Lapis that she just assumed that the woman was doing her equivalent of talking to herself.

 _Damn look at her go. I hope she figures it out this time otherwise she’s going to be destroyed._ In the meantime Lapis got their rug ready and tried to dry out her clothes as much as possible. Then she sat a few meters away from Peridot with an old worn towel around her for warmth and watched her attempt to make the potion for the third time that day(?).

Peridot added (what Lapis assumed to be) many swim bladders from the fish into the cauldron which made a crackling explosion like sound and a mushroom cloud of light blue sparkly smoke causing the cave to get very bright for a few seconds.

Peridot turned to her with a huge accomplished grin as her face lit up beautifully with the light, ‘It’s done.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! They were also supposed to leave the cave this chapter, but then Peri's backstory came in so we'll finally be out of this damn cave by next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating.  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

After Peridot made and tested the final potion both of them were in a flurry of excitement and anxiety over the next step of their plan. While Peridot made five of the body modifier potions Lapis checked over the final list of things they would need to carry with them to the surface. She had two extra set of clothes for each of them, some fish and squid in a jar, the pendant and its container, a bag for Peridot’s feet, a jar of fresh water (just in case of emergency), a small dagger, and a silver plated flintlock pistol with five rounds.  _ I think this is the lightest I can go without dumping things that are important.  _

She tied the dagger and the gun onto the belt loops of her pants securely and then put everything else in a large cloth that was kept together by a strong piece of braided rope. As soon as she was done Peridot gave her a small pack of her own that had the potions and whatever else she thought was essential to bring. 

They agreed to leave after they got a good full rest on the rug, but it seemed that both of them were too nervous to fall asleep. So instead they quietly talked about their dreams and other random thoughts as if it was any other day. ‘One day I want to have my own offspring,’ Peridot told her with almost shut eyes.

“Really?” Lapis questioned suddenly feeling herself get cold even in Peridot’s warm embrace.  _ Does she think that humans can swap genders too? Does she think that one day I could bless her with children? Or maybe...she wants to find someone else? _

‘Yes,’ Peridot went on, ‘Being chosen to breed is a big honor. I would love to pass on my traits and contribute to the next generation.’

“Is there anything else you would like to do?” Lapis questioned.  _ I mean it’s cool if someone wants to spend their life rearing children, but to be the only thing she wants to do seems a bit of a waste. Especially for someone like her. _

‘I...in my culture the more children you have the more successful you are and that was the only thing you could hope to achieve other than living. Now I’m not sure what I can do. Especially since I will probably never be able to have children.’

“Why do you say that?” Lapis asked concerned.  _ Just because her old leader rejected her as part of the group it doesn’t mean all the mermen would do the same. If she wanted to find someone else I’m sure she could. She’s certainly pretty enough to attract any man on land.  _

Peridot only cuddled closer to Lapis and snuggled into her chest as she trailed her hands down Lapis’ back slowly. ‘Tell me about your dreams.’

Lapis felt herself relaxing greatly letting her concerns slip away, “I always wanted to own my own business.”

‘Really?’ Peridot asked slowly.

“Yeah. I always wanted to be the master of my own destiny. Make as much money as I’m willing to work for in something that I built up. Working for someone is boring and you know what you’re going to get everyday, but owning the place means that everyday is an opportunity to try something new and be successful.”

‘Why didn’t you ever do it?’

“I was brought into this world with nothing and at sixteen I met Jasper and went into the Royal Navy. I’ll probably never be able to do it anyway. I’m wanted for treason in Homeland and I don’t really fit in Rose Universe’s colony in the new world.”

The thought of Jasper and her probable death penalty in Homeland made her more anxious and more awake than she wanted to be. Peridot must have noticed because she sped up her hand movements and added light presses into her back. She may not have had her whiskey, but for whatever reason Peridot made it so she didn’t need it tonight. Lapis pulled her in closer and felt her breath warm Peridot’s hair as they both slowly fell asleep. 

Lapis awoke because of her nervous stomach tossing and turning like it used to during a nightmare. As soon as she opened her eyes she immediately noticed that Peridot wasn’t in her arms but somewhere else in the cave.  _ That's odd usually she waits for me to get up or she is right next to me reading something.  _ She sat up and looked around and saw an empty cave with Peridot nowhere in sight. “Peridot?” Lapis then heard loud footsteps coming towards her. 

Peridot rounded the corner with their last meal they would have in the cave in her hands. ‘Hello Lapis, did you sleep well?’ 

“Ugh. No. I’m starting to feel nervous about this. How about you?”

‘I slept okay,’ she suddenly looked very shy, ‘I’m a little afraid of going back up. Saving you was the last time I was so close to the surface.’

Lapis nodded and then got up to straighten the rug up.  _ Lord I might not see this place ever again.  _ As much as Lapis wanted to get back into the sun and eat normal foods she was going to miss all of the magic and isolation that the cave had to offer. They ate quickly and cleaned just as fast and then grabbed their stuff which they tied to Lapis securely.  _ This is it.  _ They were standing at the end of the cave and looking into the pool of water that served as Peridot’s front door.  

Peridot got out two of the potions. ‘Drink these while I get ready,’ Peridot said as she handed her the body modifier potion and the potion of underwater breathing. She undressed and removed her feet while Lapis swiftly chugged the potions down.  _ God damn these taste funckin’ disgusting.  _ She closed her eyes in anticipation for the potion’s magic to take effect. 

When nothing happened she looked at Peridot with worry, “Oh god nothing's happening is this normal?”  _ The healing potion usually works within moments. _

Peridot looked at her playfully, ‘They take a couple minutes. It may hurt the first time you transform because your body needs to get used to being so different.’

_ That would have been nice to know five minutes ago.  _ “Anything else I should know?”

‘Make sure you stay close to me for I can only provide so much light and warmth. If you see something moving or another light that is not attached to me don’t even reach for it. Things down here have sharp teeth.’

Lapis was about to reply when she felt pain spread all throughout her body. “AGH!”  _ OH LORD. It feels like Jasper is plunging her sword in me again only all over my body! FUCK.  _ She touched her neck and felt large slits that burned a bit when she ran her fingers over them. Lapis tried to open her mouth to breathe but it didn’t seem to work so she assumed that she had gills like Peridot’s. When she looked back to Peridot she was sitting on the ground already transformed and waiting for her to go. 

They dove in the water together with Lapis carrying their things and Peridot leading the way out of their home. As soon as they got in the water it was pitch black and freezing with no light from the cave penetrating from above. Peridot pulled her close so that she was completely against her front in the presumably tight space. Every once and awhile she felt a rough rock scrap her leg or back to which Peridot would move up slightly and Lapis would try to hold her tighter. Unlike when they were dry and in the cave together she noticed that Peridot had an indescribable texture with slime or mucus covering her slippery body. 

Whatever Peridot gave her also made Lapis able to open her eyes underwater with no ill effects even though it was hard to tell if her eyes were open or closed no matter how much she strained them to be open. She also couldn’t really tell how fast or in what direction they were actually moving from the disorientation of being in the middle of pure black with no frame of reference. 

Breathing was odd too because when Lapis opened her mouth it would fill with salty water and she would swallow it. But it didn’t go down her throat it instead left through her gills and she obtained all the oxygen she needed.  _ This is so weird, but in a good way. I’ll need to ask Peri if this is how she-WHAT IS THAT! _

Out a small distance away was the first thing that Lapis had seen since she had been down there and it was a glowing white light.  _ It’s the prettiest thing I’ve seen since I’ve been in this blackness.  _ Lapis would have reached out to touch it if she didn’t recall Peridot’s warning. As they were swimming away from it however she did see a small fish approach the light and get impaled by a large set of teeth.

Eventually Peridot lit up too showing off her glow in the darkness. At first it was only under her eyes that shone a faint red glow through the water and then it was her arms that down her sides that lit up to be a lining of pure white. Lastly her tentacle hair brilliantly illuminated a moving rainbow of colors that Lapis couldn’t help but stare at and reach out to touch. As soon as she did however it shocked her and she pulled back quickly.  _ Right, her hair is like a jellyfish’s tentacles. Why isn’t she getting hurt by them though when they are on her back? _

As if reading her mind Peridot’s red hazed eyes looked down at Lapis briefly and took her hand and rubbed some of the slime from her body on it and then let go. When Lapis went to touch it again (with a bit of hesitation) she could feel that her hair felt just like a jellyfish and didn’t shock her this time.  _ She is so fucking cool. _

For the most part the ocean down there was just black with the occasional glowing animal and dark shadow that she could barely make out in the distance. One time she could have sworn she saw a large black shape perhaps bigger than the biggest ship Lapis had ever been on pass them quickly. The only real indication that it had ever been there was a glimpse she got of a giant eye that reflected Peridot’s light that looked to be as big as her head.

Lapis clung to Peridot fearing getting lost in the dark without her to guide her and keep her internal pressure from going out of balance. The only real way that Lapis knew they were going up was the great change in temperature from the frigid bottom to the warmer top. As they slowly moved upward the dark never really gave away even as the temperature increased in the vast emptiness of the grand blue ocean.

After an indeterminate amount of time the finally breached the surface of the ocean and Lapis took her first breath of fresh air since she had been thrown overboard by Jasper. With that she felt the slashes on her neck close up. “Peridot! I don’t have gills anymore. Should I drink another potion?”

In the dark Lapis saw Peridot’s rainbow hair and red washed eyes move back and forth horizontally. Then Peridot laid down so they were parallel with the water with Lapis laying on top of her. Now on the surface Lapis could tell how slow they were moving so she decided to start kicking so they could move a bit faster. Peridot’s body spread light through the dark air and water just enough where Lapis could see a small island coming up.   

Dawn started to crack when they finally made it to the island’s white sandy shore. Lapis walked up the beach and put down their supplies, “Alright we finally made it! We should set up a small camp and then figure out a way to flag down passing ships and-” Lapis turned around to see human Peridot trying to crawl over to her. “Oh shit!” Lapis yelled as she rushed over to her. She rushed down to the shore and knelt down next to Peridot. “Sorry Peri, I forgot you didn’t have the proper equipment to walk.” Lapis then picked her up so that her right arm supported Peridot’s back and the left supported her legs. 

Peridot flushed as Lapis picked her up and brought her over to where the sandy beach gave way to trees and dirt. ‘You didn’t have to carry me. You could have just brought me my feet,’ Peridot said.

Lapis looked down at her and blushed slightly, “It’s fine. Better you put your feet on while on stable ground anyway.”  _ Besides not many people can say that they’ve held the most beautiful woman in the world naked in their arms, now can they?  _ Lapis then sat down so Peridot was in her lap and not on the dirty ground next to their things. 

Peridot reached into a bag and manipulated the metal inside so that her feet would form again. Then she got up and went to go set out their things that were wet and had to dry while Lapis just sat and watched rising sun. ‘It looks like we’re going to have to wait some time before these things dry.’

“Peridot, I doubt we’ll be lucky enough for a ship to cross our path today or even tomorrow. We have all the time in the world.” Lapis then put her arms in the back of her hand and reclined on the trunk of a tree.

The other woman nodded and made her way back into Lapis’ lap, ‘Good because I know exactly what I want to do for the next few hours.’ They both watched the sunrise until Lapis felt Peridot’s head rest on her chest and her breathing even out. In response Lapis took her right hand and combed Peridot’s unruly hair and put her other around her waist so she wouldn’t fall off her lap. 

Soon they were both asleep in the morning tropical sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest it was particularly hard to write this one for whatever reason. It just feels like one of those boring transition chapters that are annoying, but you have to have in there anyway. That resulted in me writing this while half asleep and waking up to find ten million errors and inconsistencies in it. Next time should be better though with the into to other people. Any tips on that and other mistakes you find would be awesome.  
> Thank You!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' Is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

They awoke sooner than they wanted to due to the sun’s rays becoming too much for them to stay asleep. Lapis noticed a problem as soon as she awoke and tried to open her eyes. _MY EYES! Fuck you sun! Why did I want to come back to you!?_ Then she slammed her hands over her eyes to try to keep them in the dark and this action resulted in Peridot falling backwards off her lap.  

Lapis couldn’t see her talk, but she felt Peridot’s legs stiffen on her lap and heard the smack of her hands on flesh. “God damn I forgot how fucking bright this ball of torture is!” She was sure that Peridot agreed with her.

After a little while Lapis got used to the the sun’s (horrible) rays and was able to open her blurry eyes. _Everything is so bright it gives me a headache._ She looked over to Peridot who rolled herself into the shade, but still held hands over her eyes. “You okay, Peridot? I can see now by the way, so you can reply.”

‘Lapis, when did the sun become evil?’

“Not sure, but what I do know is that you need to get used to it, get clothed, and start helping me set up a base camp.”

‘Want to sleep. Tired.’ She then turned over so that she was sleeping on her stomach.

“While I appreciate the view Peridot, we really need to get started on this.”

When Peridot finally turned around Lapis looked at her for one second and almost let her just go back to sleep because she looked like she was ready to drop dead. She looked paler than normal, her hair was sticking up, and one eyes was twitching while the other was half open. But, after a moment Peridot gave her a wordless huff and tried to get up. When she started to fall forward Lapis caught her arm and straightened her so she could put on her clothes. After Peridot managed to put on her garments she looked a bit more awake and a little better even if she still kept her eyes squinted. ‘What do we need to do?’

“First let’s eat something. You look like you need it. Then we should explore the island for food and set up a small shelter in case a storm blows in. Next we should create a way to get the attention of passing ships. I’m not sure what island we’re on in the cluster, but we could be on one where they visit to get more food or do repairs on their ships.” As Lapis was speaking she saw Peridot’s eyes go unfocused and her attention start to waver.

‘Lapis, I’m tired. Can’t we do this later?’

“No. We need to get readjusted to the day and night cycle. That reminds me that I should probably teach you some human ways while we’re here. We don’t want people to get suspicious.”

‘Why? You seemed fine when I showed you my other form.’ Peridot grumpily pointed out.

Lapis felt her heart sink slightly in her chest. “That’s because I didn’t see you when you first rescued me. I got to know you first and started to talk to you and when you showed me what you looked like it wasn’t scary because I knew who you were. Most people won’t take the time to get to know you and they will only see you as something they think is scary.”

After Lapis said that Peridot seemed more awake. ‘If you knew what I looked like when I first took you in would you have tried to kill me even if I just saved your life?”

Lapis took a deep breath in. _Shit. It actually kind of hurts to answer this._ “Yes.”

While her eyes flashed with brief sadness Peridot didn’t put on the upset face that Lapis was expecting and instead put on a calculating one. ‘Why?’

“Mermaids are known for luring sailors to their death to eat them. Knowing this people would want to kill you before you kill them.”

‘That makes sense. Do humans have any natural predators?’

Lapis was taken back slightly _. I mean I’ve never thought about it like that._ “Not really? I mean things can eat humans like mermaids, dragons, sharks, big cats, and a few other mythical creatures. But, it's not exactly common given how rare these creatures are becoming due to us killing them all.”

‘I understand. From absence of predators you began to lash out at anything that could potentially harm you. I suppose I and many others would do the same.’

“You don’t seem so...upset by that idea.”

‘The strong survive and breed while the weak die and are forgotten. It’s just the way everything works. What should I know to appear human?’

 _I still don’t like that she thinks like that. It’s like she justifies her family abandoning her everytime she says it. Or her saying that she is better off dead._ “We’ll do that later, we really need to get going it’ll be midday soon.” Peridot nodded and followed Lapis into the small forest on their island.

For most of the day they explored the island finding it to actually be a decent size being a short walk from end to end. Lapis was disappointed that there seemed to be no large animals on the island that they could use for food only seabirds and some of the marine life on a rocky shore at the far side of the small island.They split up so Peridot collected food and water and Lapis gathered some materials to build a shelter like sticks and palm leaves.

She created a small hut for them out of these materials that (hopefully) had a thick enough roof to keep out any passing showers. It was only big enough for the two to sleep in and have one or two items with them at a time. Since she constructed the hut on the cusp of the beach the floor was a mixture of sand, dirt, and various leaves. _Not too comfortable, but it will do for now._ She even built a small fire pit in the front of the hut so they could finally have some cooked food.

When Peridot returned she brought a crab, a handful of oysters, and even a bird (which she was reluctant to ask how she even caught it). Lapis lit the fire and took the meat from the crab to put it over the fire using a stick.

Peridot looked the fire over with interest and moved her hand closer to it. “Peridot don’t touch it. It’ll burn you if you do.”

‘I know. I just always read about fires in books. They are very pretty and warm. Almost like the crystals in our cave.’

Lapis turned her attention back to the smell of cooking crab made her mouth water in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. She watched the crab meat bubble and change color as Peridot sat and skinned the bird with her shifted knife like nails on her right hand and the dagger Lapis brought in her left.

When the meat finally finished cooking she barely let it cool down as she ripped it in half and stuffed it in her mouth. _I don’t care how much this is burning my mouth this is the best tasting thing I’ve had in damn near eternity._ She could almost moan at how good it was and when she swallowed the crab she looked over to Peridot and tried to give her the other half. “Come on Peridot it tastes really good.”

Peridot looked at the crab critically as she took it in her hand. She smelled it and contorted her face to an unsure grimace. ‘It doesn't smell right.’

“Humans eat cooked food mostly because it takes out harmful germs and it tastes better.”

She still looked unsure as she put it in her mouth and like the peaches before her grimace changed as she chewed and swallowed the food. ‘It tastes alright, but the texture is off. It’s edible at least.’ Lapis smiled at Peridot’s admission to kind of liking the food and started to break open the oysters.

Peridot continued to skin the bird at this point having most of it’s feathers off. They talked a bit, but it was mostly Lapis grumbling to herself at the degree of difficulty that the oysters were giving her. All of the sudden Peridot’s face showed a flash of great pain as she began to cough up the crab as she held her stomach with one hand. ‘My stomach seems to not agree with my observation.’

Lapis watched her bring up the crab with a frown. “Are you okay though? That sounded pretty painful.” she asked with concern.

‘In time I should be able to adapt to the taste and digestion of cooked foods, but for now I think I will not try more.’

“Fair enough. You want some oysters?” Lapis asked as she finally got one open.

‘No. I don’t think I’ll eat tonight.’

“Why? That crab really make you that sick? Regardless you really should force something down you need the energy.”

‘I do not need to eat everyday multiple times a day like you do to remain mostly functional.’

“Are you sure? You ate every time I ate down there.”

‘Yes, I only need one good meal a week to remain healthy while doing medium level activity.’

“Alright,” Lapis said not really believing her. “Why don’t you drink some water then?”

Peridot shook her head. ‘There is no fresh water on this island, so we have a limited supply. You need it more than me. When I need it I will go to the ocean in my other form and drink.’

“Okay.” Conversation dwindled for a spell as Lapis ate the oysters she finally managed to open and Peridot finished skinning the bird using her nails and the dagger to cut it up into sizable bits and putting it over the fire for Lapis.

“I know you may not want to do this, but when we do get picked up by a ship you shouldn’t transform or use your metal powers in a way that other people can notice.”

‘No, I understand. What else should I know?’

“You already look like a human and most people won’t try to interact with you because you are mute which is good for us. The only thing that we would need to really go over is some minor etiquette things that people on land expect of you.”

‘Can we do that tomorrow? I’m really tired.’

Lapis looked at her and felt bad for even keeping her up for this long and then turned her attention to the bird cooking on the fire. “Let me just put the food somewhere and put out the fire real quick so we can go to sleep.”

Peridot nodded and went inside their small hut and took off her feet as Lapis started to put out the fire. Afterwards, Lapis yawned and joined her in the hut pulling the other woman close to her like she did so many times before. _So far so good._

Over the next two weeks they got comfortable on the island and collected things like food and materials for a large fire pit that they were building. The idea was that if they built a big enough fire then a passing ship would be able to see it’s glow at night and during the day they would be able to see a large smoke trail and attract them to the island. It was a good idea except for the fact that they had already seen two ships that either didn’t see them or just didn’t want to investigate what was going on.

Every time they lit the fire they needed to get more materials to build a bigger fire that would burn brighter which would lead to Lapis spending more time out in the forest. Peridot in the meantime decided to take the animal fat from the birds to put them on the fire to help it burn. During their nightly dinners Lapis taught Peridot some of the basics about her acting like a lady in Homeland’s society so no one would find her suspicious. Some minor things like telling her she shouldn’t swear because it was unladylike and she should give higher class men small curtsies when she meets them.

Lapis thoroughly enjoyed their time together on the island when they walked on the beach arms linked while they talked and joked with each other as the sun warmed them. They ended up walking with linked arms because Peridot was stumbling more than usual on the sand and she kept walking into things much to Lapis’ mild concern. She really didn’t mind keeping Peridot close to her anyway because she often lost herself feeling her soft white skin and admiring the way the light bounced off of her.

Life was pretty good for them and so far with the only major problem being there lack of fresh water. The jar of emergency fresh water was almost empty and Lapis had begun to resort to sucking on fish eyes for there small water content and trying to gather the small amount of rain that passed.

One day they had just finished collecting materials for the big fire when a ship appeared on the horizon. _Hot damn this might be our lucky day!_ “I’ll get a light from the small fire douse the leaves with the animal fat.” Peridot nodded and did as she was told.

They lit the fire that turned out to be three people tall and then they sat down together on the beach to wait for the ship. Peridot clapped her hands together when she saw that it was getting ever closer to them. ‘I think we finally got one!’

Lapis let herself smile and wrapped Peridot in an excited hug. “You’re going to love this. We’ll just ask them to take us back to Homeland and we’ll be there in no time!”

As the ship approached however Lapis noticed a few things that she didn’t like. _Why is it designed so weird? It looks like a modified merchant ship instead of an old navy vessel like the rest of Homeland’s fleet. The style of the sails look off in some way too._ As the boat crept ever closer Lapis’ eyes widened in surprise. _Oh no. That’s not a Homeland flag at the top._ “Peridot we need to put out the fire!”

Peridot looked at her confused, ‘Why? We want the ship to see us.’

“That’s not a ship that we want to be on!” Lapis yelled scrabbling to try to put out the fire.

‘Why?’

“Alright, here's a summary of a long story I should have told you awhile ago. The people on that ship are the reason why Homeland thinks I’m a traitor.”

‘Wait what are you talking about? Will they harm you on sight?’ Peridot asked not understanding though she did begin to pour water on the fire making it start to sizzle.

“No, most of them can be kind people, but they aren’t the type of people that we want to be mixed up with for what we want to do.”

It was too late however because The Crystal Gem anchored off shore and sent out a two small wooden boats to the island. “Mother Fucker!” Peridot put a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her which worked to a small degree and then they went to pack up their things.

The first boat landed with a familiar face leading it who was the tall stone faced war veteran turned engineer herself, Garnet Ignis. Garnet is a very tall woman with black poofy hair that was tied back with a red bandana. She had a large pair of tinted goggles that covered her eyes and most of her face. She stepped off of the boat and as she did Lapis noticed that her brown coat moved showing a gun that was on her hilt. Behind Garnet and in the other boat was many of The Crystal Gem’s crew members that Lapis either knew or had slept with at some point.

“Hello Garnet.”

Garnet moved her head down, “Lapis.”

“Do you think that me and my friend here could get a ride back to the mainland?”

“You’d need to ask Pearl.”

“Can we go back with you to ask her?”

Garnet nodded. Lapis and Peridot grabbed their knapsacks of things and went over to Garnet’s boat to which most of the crew started looking Peridot over approvingly. _I almost forgot what it was like to be around these people._ Peridot looked uncomfortable and scooted closer to Lapis and hooked her arm around hers.

“Soooo Lapis, we obviously know who you’ve been doing since you’ve been gone, but what exactly have you been up to?” Some of the others snickered at the comment and Lapis frowned.

“Got held prisoner again, almost died, and was miraculously saved.” Lapis deadpanned.

The crew in the boat laughed boisterously. “Same story then, eh?”

She only nodded and it looked like the rest of the crew were about to bombard her and Peridot with questions until Garnet came back and everyone calmed back down. “We gathered the necessary materials. Head back to the ship.” Garnet commanded.

The crew pushed off of the beach and began rowing back to The Crystal Gem in silence. The crew itself was mostly female from what Lapis could remember as is most of the military for New Colony and even Homeland. For Homeland it was said (though never confirmed) that the reason why most of the military was female was because of the shortage of men needed to work at home. Not only that, but back on the mainland big families were encouraged to keep population rising and most women out at sea couldn’t provide that.

Most of the crew of The Crystal Gem itself also happened to be a mix of old time war veterans, older orphans from the war, or some combination of friend or family of someone who worked on the ship.

They reached the ship and started to bring the small boat up to the upper deck level. Garnet, Lapis, and Peridot got out of the boat as the other crew steadied that boat and helped the second out of the water. “I’ll get Pearl.” Garnet said walking away.

Lapis and Peridot watched her go and at this point Peridot finally pulled away from her to take in the ship itself. Lapis watched as Peridot looked around wide eyed and tugged at her sleeve impatiently. ‘Lapis, I want to explore. There are so many things! Some of them are shiny!’

Lapis smiled, “In a little bit. First we need to talk to the captain of the ship to make sure that she’ll let us stay aboard.”

“Well look at THIS. Lapis Lazuli! I thought we wouldn’t see you again!” someone yelled at the top of their lungs. Lapis looked up the deck and saw Amethyst Prime strutting towards them. Amethyst is a short woman about the same size as Peridot who had voluminous long purple hair that often made Lapis wonder how it didn’t get caught and tangled in everything. Amethyst was one of the crew that she actively tolerated and even had some kind of a friendship with because of her boisterous attitude that she herself contrasted nicely with. They even used to play pranks and drink with each other last time Lapis was here and besides that she was a pretty good lay.

Admittedly Lapis wasn’t thrilled to see her old friend again when she stopped looking at Lapis and moved her attention to Peridot and let out a loud wolf whistle in appreciation, “And who is this lovely lady you brought with you?”

Lapis could see Amethyst undressing Peridot with her eyes and a big goofy grin on her face and that’s when Lapis decided to relinked their arms and bring Peridot closer to her, “This is my friend Peridot.”

Amethyst looked up to her slyly, “Friend, huh?”

“Ya,” Lapis said sternly with squinting eyes. _I like Amethyst, but it seems like we’re going to have a problem here._

“So doll, you’re just Lapis’ friend?” Amethyst asked looking at Peridot. Peridot’s eyes widened and she stepped back behind Lapis a bit and didn’t open her mouth. “What’s wrong, beautiful? Did I make you speechless.”

“She’s mute, Amethyst. Leave her alone.”

Amethyst pulled back quickly, “Oh shit I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make fun of ya.”

Peridot came out from behind Lapis and nodded her head with a small smile accepting the apology. Then a door slammed open and out stepped Garnet and the Captain herself, Pearl Saltator. In her long black coat with gold buttons, ruffled shirt, and sweet hat. _Damn. I forgot how pretty that old salty sea bitch was._

“Lapis, I hear you wanted to speak with me?” Pearl said with power and poise in her voice.

Lapis straightened herself up, “Yes, my friend and I would like to speak with you.”

Pearl’s brow lifted and moved slightly to get a good look at Peridot and didn’t seem to be impressed with what she saw. That was until Peridot unlinked her arm from Lapis and made her way towards Pearl, chest puffed out and making her metal feet clank on the deck relatively loudly. Peridot’s clanking feet were heard by everyone on the ship because everyone stopped to stare at the gorgeous newcomer walking straight up to their captain with pride and intimidation. Pearl moved her hand so it was on the sword at her hilt as Peridot stopped right in front of her.

Lapis looked around quickly to see that most crew members had a hand on some kind of weapon and the ones who didn’t looked ready to jump at a moment's notice. Everyone was quiet and tense as Peridot outstretched her hand into a stop motion to Pearl like she did when she first met Lapis. Pearl for her part tilted her head and looked puzzled at this motion.

Then Peridot tilted her own head and turned it to Lapis, ‘I thought that your species shook hands as a greeting?’

Lapis’ heart stopped for a moment and outwardly cringed. _God Damn we’ve been here for five minutes and she already gave us away._ _Wait. No one is yelling or saying anything about her word choice...I’m a fucking idiot._ “That’s true Peridot, but you’re doing it wrong,” Lapis said with a sigh as she walked over to her. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she approached the two anyone of them ready to kill them at a moment's notice. “Your hand is supposed to go sideways and usually you make it known that you want to shake hands in greeting.”

Peridot nodded happily then moved her hand sideways and looked back to Pearl who still looked confused but lightly grasped the other woman’s hand and moved it up and down. Peridot’s smile was big and comforting to the rest of the crew who all let out a sigh of relief and went back to doing their jobs while only mildly paying attention to them.

“Let’s go into my quarters so I can answer your questions.” Lapis nodded and her and Peridot started to follow Pearl. “Only you, Lapis. Then I will speak to Peridot afterwards. Was I correct on the name?”

“Ya, you got her name right and we might just want to talk to you together since Peridot here is mute.”

“I’ll still speak to you separately.”

Lapis looked at Peridot who gave her a thumbs up in encouragement. “Don’t you worry, Lapis. We’ll keep her company!” Amethyst yelled and some of the other crew members shouted in agreement.

 _That doesn't give me much comfort, but It’s not like I have much of a choice._ With that Lapis nodded and followed Pearl into her quarters and sat down at the other side of a large desk.

“So Lapis, Garnet has informed me that you would like to travel with us. I assume you want your newest floozy to come along as well.”

Lapis ignored the jab to Peridot and answered, “Look, we don’t want to travel with you guys permanently. We just need a lift back to the mainland after being stuck on this island.”

“Understood. But, how _did_ you get stuck on the island? Last time we saw you, you stole a small sailing craft and sailed out by yourself in the middle of the ocean.”

Lapis looked down, “Jasper captured me out there and took me prisoner for a while. She then wounded me and left me to die on that island. Peridot just so happened to find me and she tended to my wounds and brought me back to full health.”

At the mention of Jasper Pearl frowned but made no further inquiries on her. “Hmph. With how she is dressed I would have thought she came from a brothel,” Pearl commented offhandedly. “So, all you want is a way back to Homeland?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll need to work for your stay here.”

“Of course.”

“I can make up a temporary contract if that pleases you.”

“You don’t have to we won’t be staying long.”

Peal nodded, “Now let’s move on to the topic of your _friend_. Before we get to what she can do for work here I have to ask: what’s wrong with her?”

“Damn Pearl, you’re usually less rude than this,” Lapis said with an eye roll. “Nothing is wrong with her she just hasn’t had human interaction in a while and she’s mute.”

“Why hasn’t she had much human interaction?”

“Her family abandoned her on an island when she was about seventeen and her voice was damaged beyond repair.”

“How were you able to understand her then?” Pearl asked quickly.

“I can read lips remember?” Lapis countered.

“Right. Her feet?”

“Shark attack.”

“What is she good for?”

“You can show her anything and she can learn it. She may be mute, but she isn’t stupid.”

“I doubt she’s had education and she hasn’t had human interaction in years? I wouldn’t be surprised if she was more animal than human.”

Lapis frowned and leaned forward so she was closer to Pearl. “I told you Pearl, she isn’t a stupid person. You’ll be surprised at how smart and clever she can be.”

A loud cheer came from outside as Amethyst burst into the room, “Lapis, that dame you brought here is totally wild! She just caught a rat with her bare hands and stuffed it in her gullet!”

Lapis froze and only looked at Pearl’s smug face for a moment. “Well Lapis would you say that-”

“You can gloat later!” Lapis yelled as she ran out of the room. When she got outside she saw Peridot’s cheeks filled and her mouth moving up and down with it’s tail hanging out of her mouth and then swallowing it whole to which the crowd gave another cheer. “Peridot cough that up!” Lapis yelled in the tone of an angry parent. Peridot looked at her and immediately started to heave the rat back up and spit it out onto her hand. Then she held it out to Lapis proudly like she did in the cave with the squid. “No Peridot get rid of it!”

‘You don’t want it?’ Peridot asked looking mildly hurt.

“No I don’t want it!” Lapis yelled again. Then she looked at her sad face and let out a loud sigh. “Peridot, I’m not trying to be mean, but that thing could have a million diseases in it so you can’t just stuff it in your mouth. Just throw it over board or something.”

Peridot looked at the rat and then at Lapis and then at the rat again. ‘Nope,’ she mouthed as she quickly put the rat back in her mouth much to the delight and mild disgust of the crew members.

For the next couple minutes Lapis chased Peridot around the ship while the crew member cheered them on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He Ho! Other people!  
> And this chapter was fun to write especially the second half.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis chased Peridot to the upper deck and finally cornered her. “Alright Peridot time to let the rat go.”

Peridot took the rat out of her mouth and waved it around by it’s almost dismembered tail. She looked at Lapis with a playful grin on her face and mouthed, ‘Anything you told Pearl that I should know?’

“What?” Lapis asked confused. Then she heard some of the other crew members move to where they could see her and Peridot.

“Get her Lapis!”

“You can beat her, Peridot!”

 _How are they still watching this?_ As Lapis moved her head to face them Peridot tried to run past her. “Oh, no you don’t!”  Lapis yelled as she lunged for Peridot.

She missed but blocked Peridot from running down the stairs in front of them. Peridot’s back was to the crowd this time and Lapis was facing them. Once again Peridot mouthed quickly, ‘What do I need to know when I speak to Pearl?” This time when she spoke she moved her torso and hips just as playful, but her face shown seriousness. All the crowd saw was the wiggling of her hips and gave many cheers and whistles of appreciation.

 _This is all a game. She planned this._ Lapis put on a determined and angry face and jumped to Peridot again and this time landing on top of her and tried to wrestle her submission. The fake wrestling made it so they were close enough to each other that Lapis could whisper in her ear without anyone being suspicious. “I told her that Jasper abandoned me on the island and you nursed me back to health.” Peridot struggled to get out of Lapis’ hold and they got repositioned. “Also, that you were left on an island when you were seventeen and you lost your feet in a shark attack.”

They repositioned again so that Lapis finally pinned her down so she was directly on top of her. Peridot looked up to her with half lidded eyes and heavy breath, ‘Anything else?’

 _Why does she have to be so beautiful?_ “No,” Lapis said sternly playing up the scene ignoring the boisterous crowd. Then she took the rat from Peridot’s hand and threw it overboard. “Finally,” Lapis said as she rose and helped Peridot up.

When Peridot got up she went to the banister and looked to the water below where the rat was, ‘I still wanted that you know.’

“Thats too bad. You shouldn’t be eating the rats.”

Peridot gave a wordless huff and was about to respond when they heard a voice call from the other side of the ship, “If you two are done, I would like to speak to Peridot.”

“Good luck, Peri.”

‘I do not need your human concept,' Peridot mouthed with a wink. As soon as she took one step she lurched forward and fell down the stairs and landed face down with an oomf.

“You okay Miss I don’t need luck?” Lapis called down.

Peridot quickly got up and brushed herself up and gave Lapis a huge smile and a thumbs up to show she was okay. Then she looked over to the annoyed looking captain and smiled at her while they walked inside her quarters.

“What a girl you got there, Lapis, “ Amethyst said from behind her.

“Why the hell were you guys staring at us the whole time? We’re not that entertaining,” Lapis said with an eye roll. _Hopefully I can divert this conversation here._

“Why were we looking?” Amethyst repeated with a laugh. “From the look you were giving her while you were on top of her most of us thought you would be giving us a show!”

The crew behind Amethyst laughed and murmured in agreement some making vulgar comments. “Well you can forget it and the rest of you better get back to your jobs before Pearl is done with Peridot,” Lapis said with annoyance.

Most of them groaned and went back to their posts immediately except for Amethyst and one woman (that Lapis didn’t recognize) who lingered for a moment after looking at her oddly for a moment and then left.

“Man, did getting a girlfriend really make you so uptight? Is it because she is so much fun that you just needed to fill the role of stone faced asshole?”

“We’re not girlfriends. We’re just two people who are traveling together. And I was always a stone faced asshole, thanks.”

“Pft. You two don’t look like you’re just friends,” Amethyst said with sass. “Besides you were mostly just a stone faced asshole to Pearl and other commanding officers not to me and the other members of the crew.

“Look, I’m sorry Amethyst alright? Things are just a bit stressful right now,” Lapis said as she leaned on the banister on the back of the ship and stared out into the big blue desert before her.

This time Amethyst raised her brow, “Something is different with you. You just apologized for hurting others feelings and you aren’t drunk.” Lapis stayed silent while Amethyst fidgeted next to her and then walked slowly next to Lapis and leaned on the banister careful not to touch her. “Anything you want to open up about?”

Lapis sighed, “I just have a lot on my mind with Peridot and Jasper.” Amethyst stayed quiet either because she wanted Lapis to continue or she didn’t quite know how to respond. _Lord knows I’ve had enough crying nights about Jasper that she knows better than to talk about it._ They both leaned on the banister and stared out into the ocean. _I wonder what she’s got on her mind._

Before Lapis could ask another voice came from the other side of her, “Ah, another beautiful day. Just as I predicted.” Both her and Amethyst jumped a bit not hearing the other woman’s approach and turned to greet her. Sapphire Ignis was a high prestigious nobel woman in Blue Diamond’s court when she was young for her amazing future sight abilities. At the beginning of the war she fell in love with one of the women who were supposed to be guarding her and ended up fighting in the war along side Rose Quartz.   

Lapis gave a small sarcastic laugh, “Since when do you specialize in weather?”

Sapphire smiled slightly, “Since I predicted that it would be bluer than usual out here and that it would bring great happiness to the crew.”

Lapis snorted, “That doesn’t sound like a weather prediction.”

Sapphire just continued to smile as she too leaned against the banister to stare out into the ocean with the other two girls. “It’s nice that you’re finally back, Lapis.”

“Thanks, Sapphire I seem to be getting that a lot today. Question though: why didn’t you tell Pearl I was coming directly instead of giving her the weather?”

“Oh, you know me, never telling the future exactly unless I have too,” the older woman said.

“So, where is Ruby? I haven't seen her yet.” Lapis asked. _Usually they are always together latched onto each other._

Sapphire giggled, “Oh we are on kitchen duty now and one of us had to stay back to finish dinner. So, only one of us could come up here to see what all the commotion was about.”

This time Amethyst spoke up, “All the commotion? That started over an hour ago what the hell took ya so long?”

Sapphire giggled more and a light blush spread to her cheeks, “We kept volunteering each other to take a break to see you and that went on for a while until things got a bit more heated and-”

“Ugh! Please Sapphire you and Ruby are like family to us,” Lapis said with mild disgust while Amethyst stuck out her tongue. _They are almost disgustingly in love for two women in their fifties._

“Our last name isn’t fire for nothing!” Sapphire shouted happily. Lapis and Amethyst rolled their eyes. “Now, I can’t wait to meet this new girlfriend of yours, Lapis.”

Lapis jumped, “No, Sapphire we aren’t dating or anything. We’re just friends.”

Sapphire’s mouth went to a small frown and she mumbled something to herself. “My apologies for the mistake. I would still like to meet the young lady, she seems to have a very influencing personality.”

 _This is turning into an odd conversation._ “You’re going to have to wait until Pearl is done trying to interrogate her.”

“They’ll be out shortly.”

After a few more minutes of catching up the door to the captain’s quarters swung open with Pearl holding it looking thoroughly annoyed. Her short peach brown hair was ruffled as much as her clothes and her eyes looked tired. Peridot meanwhile looked just as happy as when she entered the room if not happier. She walked out of the room with a huge smile on her face and ran up to Lapis as soon as she saw her. Peridot then wrapped her in a tight hug and nuzzled her forehead against Lapis’ in greeting.

When Lapis looked up she saw Sapphire with her hands pushed together in excitement and a huge grin on her face while Amethyst had a smaller coy smile on hers. Then they turned to Pearl who let out a groan, “Sapphire can you come in here so I can speak to you?”

“Of course Pearl. I’ll be back in a little while and then I can introduce myself to this new crew member. Excuse me,” Sapphire said as she lifted up her tattered blue dress and walked to Pearl.  

“So, girl how did your first meeting with Pearl go?” Amethyst asked her. Peridot was surprised that Amethyst interacted with her and turned her head away from Lapis to mouth something to her. “Sorry, I didn’t get that. I can’t read lips like Lapis can.”

“I didn’t get it either Peridot, you were facing away from me.”

Peridot nodded and turned back to Lapis, ‘I think it went well! She was really nice!’

Lapis raised a brow, “Really? She seemed rather shaken up when she came out of there.”

The woman in her arms nodded enthusiastically, ‘All she did was ask me yes or no questions and I think that I answered them correctly!’

“What did she ask you?” Lapis asked.

‘Weird things like how long I’ve known you, if we do things together, how you treat me, and some personal questions.’

“That bitch,” Lapis said almost under her breath. _I bet she wanted to know if I’ve been abusing Peridot or not. I wish she would have asked me first._ Peridot looked confused at her comment.

“Looks like you two are entangled with each other. I’ll leave you to it. Besides I need to fix the banister on the starboard side of the ship,” Amethyst said as she started to walk away to probably slack off at her job.  

After Amethyst said that Lapis looked down and noticed that Peridot was still in her arms and pulled away slightly to make it look like a friendly embrace. “Alright Peridot, let's give you a tour around the ship.” Peridot nodded and linked their arms for stability.

They walked down a small staircase slowly so Peridot wouldn’t fall down it this time. Lapis decided that they should go below deck first so they went down another staircase which brought them to an area that was brightly lit by windows that let in sunlight. “Alright, the ship has two sub floors that are open to us, one to keep supplies and whatever they are trading at the moment and the other for living. The floor we are on is floor A with all the trading equipment and such.” Lapis motioned around to all the crates.

Three of the women who were downstairs stopped moving crates and approached the pair. The one out to the front of the group with a gage in the middle of her cheek greeted them first, “Hello, my lovely lady we didn’t get to introduce ourselves up on deck. I’m Sharky, the one with the curly hair to the left of me is Jay, and the other on the right of me is named Lavender.”

Lapis knew Sharky and Jay from her last stay on the ship. They were really nice people from what Lapis remembered, _though it’s hard to remember considering I was drunk half the time._ They looked similar to most of the crew on the ship tall, dark, and beefy to the max. Well _almost everyone. There is still Skinny and Carnelian and a few of the other odd balls that aren’t like them._

When Lapis snapped out of her thoughts she noticed that Sharky and Jay were both trying their best to chat with Peridot and were more successful than Amethyst with getting her to laugh. Lavender however was spending her time looking at Lapis and when she noticed that Lapis was actively staring at her back she smiled and showed her white sharp teeth. _That smile seems kinda familiar._

The woman looked a little different from the other two having a slightly darker shade of skin and had the same colored hair and eyes that matched her namesake. Lavender was also around the same size as the other two women which was about twice as big as Lapis. She also had a tattoo on her right forearm of some sort of gemstone that Lapis didn’t recognize right away. “Hello, Lavender was it? I don’t believe we’ve met before,” Lapis spoke as nicely as she possibly could. _Ugh I hate meeting new people. It’s always so awkward._

Lavender’s eyes looked like they were sparkling, “Yes, it was. I joined the crew about five months ago.” Lavender laughed and put a hand on the back of her head, “It’s funny to finally meet you after hearing so much about you from everyone else.”

“Everyone talks that much about me, huh? You must have just missed me then.”

Lavender in her dreamlike state laughed good naturedly, “Just missed you? You were gone for over a year before I came on this ship.”

“Wait what?” Lapis asked in surprise. Then she felt Peridot tug at her arm and had a look that Lapis couldn’t quite place on her face.

‘I would like to move onto the next part of the ship please.”

 _I’ll move that concern to later after I’m done with this._ “You’re right we only have so much daylight,” Lapis said to Peridot. Then she turned to the three woman, “We’ll see you all at dinner and in the sleeping area tonight.”

The three said their goodbyes Sharky and Jay directing it towards Peridot and Lavender to Lapis. They moved down another staircase to the common living area of the crew that was dimly lit by small hanging lanterns. “Down here is the sleeping and living area of the crew at the far end is the kitchen is at the back and is run by Sapphire and Ruby. There are places for eating and sleeping near this end. If we want something to sleep on tonight then we need to get here early.”

Peridot left Lapis’ side seemingly seeing better in the dim light of the barely lit ship than she did in the bright sunlight. She explored around and placed her hands on on some steel bars that were on the entrance of some of the sleeping quarters. ‘What are these for?”

“This area used to be the jail area of the ship. For prisoners during the war,” Garnet said walking out of the shadow.  

“Jeez Garnet you should announce your presence,” Lapis said with a hand on her heart.

‘She can understand me!’ Peridot said happily.

“No, I cannot.”

‘Then how can you-’

“I have my ways.” Garnet said as she adjusted her goggles.

“So, what are you doing down here? I would have thought that Pearl would have called you in for another meeting like Sapphire,” Lapis asked.

“She will soon. I was helping Ruby in the kitchen.”

“AND SHE STILL NEEDS HELP!” Ruby shouted from the kitchen. Then a large crash was heard along with various noises of metal falling.

Peridot ran into the kitchen to help her while Lapis and Garnet stayed back facing each other. “So Garnet, how far ahead have you seen?”

“Enough.”

“You going to tell Pearl? If you are tell me now so Peri and I can leave.”

“Make sure that whatever you two do it is the best option for both of you for your futures.”

“I feel like you soothsayers always give the same prediction, but in a different way,” Lapis said with annoyance.

“That’s because the future is not entirely certain. It is like a stream that can have many divots and paths depending on the individual,” said a soft voice from behind them. They turned to see Sapphire walking down the stairs carefully. “Thank you for helping Ruby, Garnet. You may go speak to Pearl now.”

Garnet nodded and left. “I’m sure Garnet told you about Peridot. What are your thoughts?”

“There are many paths for you and her to take together and separate if you so choose. I warn you that many lead to foul ends, but if you are willing to do some hard work just as many lead you both to a happy life.”

“At least you’re a little better than Garnet,” Lapis said with an eye roll. “Is she up there telling Pearl now?”

“We will not tell Pearl or anyone else anything about you two you don’t want us discussing.”

Lapis let out a sigh of relief, “Thanks. That’s one less thing for me to worry about.”

“HEY, I hear voices out there that should be helping me and this lady make supper!” Ruby yelled from the kitchen. Sapphire and Lapis walked to the kitchen and saw Ruby standing on a stool cutting up fish quickly and nervously while Peridot was trying to open up many of the pickling jars. Ruby looked up quickly at them and then back down just as fast, “Now hurry you two I promised Sapphire that I would have at least half of these done by the time she got back!”

Peridot looked up to Ruby and then to Sapphire and then to Lapis. ‘I thought that person standing next to you was Sapphire.’

“Give it a minute Peri.”

“Give what a minute?! I told you we need to get this done. Lapis you help Green Dress open those jars and Sapphire you can help me with these fish.” Lapis shrugged and went over to Peridot and helped her open some jars and take out only the most appetizing of foods. Then after a solid minute, “WAIT.”

Peridot looked at Lapis with concern, ‘Did it really take her that long?’

“Yep.”

“Sapphire I’m so sorry! I tried as hard as I could, but after you left I just got so distracted I’m just so sorry!” Ruby wailed.

“Ruby, Ruby, it’s okay you’ve only been doing this for a short time. It’s fine that you didn’t work that fast,” Sapphire said with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks Sapphy,” Ruby said with a playful smile of her own. She shifted her hand so it was on top of Sapphire’s and moved closer her to make the gap between them smaller.

Sapphire put on her own playful smile and closed the gap even more, “If you’re really so sad then I know something we can do to make you feel better.” In a flash Ruby had Sapphire pinned to the counter and they were passionately locked together.

‘Oh my,’ Peridot said with cheeks tinted red.

“Ya, they are really into each other especially for an older couple. Hey you two get a room!” Lapis shouted.

Ruby started to move her lips down to Sapphire’s mouth then throat, “This is our room,” Sapphire breathily said.

“Well, you two shouldn’t be doing shit like that while preparing food.”

“Maybe you should be quiet like your friend there,” Ruby growled out.

 _Even if this is disgusting, dinner still needs to get done and I really don’t want to go back up to the main deck and have another conversation with Pearl just yet._ Lapis and Peridot just went back to opening jars and putting their contents on many plates while Sapphire and Ruby continued on. During this time Lapis noticed that Peridot for the most part was not affected by the couple’s activity, but every once and awhile watched them with her calculating face. _I can’t believe she can just look at them with no problem and then ignore them and get back to work._

After a while Ruby and Sapphire finished their activity and washed their hands and started to prepare dinner once again. Both looked more relaxed and Sapphire as definitely more giggly, “Good job you two, dinner is looking divine.”

Ruby smiled, “Ya, thanks Lapis and lady in green.”

“Her name is Peridot, dear she is Lapis’ friend,” Sapphire said as she put a hand on Ruby’s arm.

Ruby’s eyes narrowed and looked them over, “Friend huh? Suuuurrrreeeee.” Then it seemed that she noticed Sapphire’s hand on her and gave her another playful smile. “Why don’t you two go and tell everyone that dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

“Sure, and we’ll make it a half an hour. Let’s go Peridot,” Lapis said eagerly happy to have a good reason to not see the couple in their next passionate love making session. _Even if it does mean that I’ll need to go see Pearl._

Peridot’s eyes lingered on the couple as they left to go backup on the top deck. The sun was setting and everything looked beautiful in the light. Even the angry captain that was storming towards them. “I would like to speak with you two in my cabin.” _Fucking hell we just got back up here._ They walked into her cabin Lapis sat down at the chair in the front of the desk and Peridot sat on her lap. “I’ve decided that you can both stay on board until we reach Homeland,” Pearl said and then gave a pause.

“Thanks Pearl, we really appreciated it,” Lapis said as Peridot shook her head up and down in agreement.

“You will be treated as regular crew even if you’re not technically contracted and just a reminder that we have laws that you two need to follow here,” Pear said that part looking at Lapis directly. “Lapis, you’ll be working as a deck hand of course and as for Peridot I’ll assign you odd jobs until we can figure out what you are best at.”

Peridot gave her a salute as thanks.

“Lapis will get paid two silver and three bronze a week and Peridot will get paid five bronze until we find a permanent job.”  

“What! That’s bullshit Pearl. She should get normal eight bronze like everyone else when they start,” Lapis said angrily.

“You’re not in a position to negotiate especially in that manner,” Pearl responded just as angry.

The two looked like they would get into a fight until Peridot put a hand on Lapis’ chest, ‘It’s fine. I am pretty sure we have enough of your designated currency to get by.’

“If you say so. She says that she’s fine with the five bronze.”

“See Lapis, some people can be reasonable.”

“You can be smug later. Sapphire and Ruby sent us up here to tell everyone that dinner is ready.”

“Excellent. I’ll ring the end of the work day bell. You two should head down before you get caught in a stampede,” Pearl said with a small smile. Lapis frowned at her happiness. _She’s only ever happy about things when she feels that she’s won something._

They nodded and made their way back down to the dining hall. _God damn I feel like today is just us walking around and going from place to place. I can’t wait to sleep tonight._ They sat at the middle of the table and picked up the food that was rationed to them. A loud rumbling was heard from upstairs and a multitude of shouting and the rest of the crew ran down and almost violently grabbed their food and sat down.

Most people started eating with their hands the exceptions being the more refined or older crew members like Pearl, the Ignis family, and Amethyst (surprisingly). Lapis picked up her fork and knife with appreciation. _It’s been so long since I’ve used these._

“You look like you’ve never seen silver ware before,” said someone next to her. Lavender sat to Lapis’ right and was one of the few regular crew that was using her silverware instead of her hands.

“You start to appreciate things like this when you’ve been trapped in the wild for a long time.”

Lavender laughed, “Your friend doesn't seem to have the same appreciation as you do.”

She looked over and saw Peridot using her hands like everyone else. “Peridot, you should use the knife and fork that you have instead of your hands.”

‘Why?’ Peridot asked looking at the rest of the crew.

“Because you’re a lady and it will be good practice for when you’re on land.”

Peridot frowned, but picked up the utensils anyway and tried to mimic Lapis’ hand movements. She tried to pick up her food with a fork and it kept falling off and she was having trouble cutting her food. She puffed out her cheeks with annoyance, ‘This is taking forever! I should just eat with my hands.’

“You’ll get better with it in time,” Lapis responded. Then she got up so she was behind Peridot and put her hands on top of hers to help her cut the food and put it on her fork so she could eat it correctly. After helping her a couple of times Peridot got the hang of it and clumsily ate her food while Lapis sat back down. Lapis looked at Peridot intently to see if she was enjoying the food which she could subtly tell she wasn’t. Her usual grimace was gone, but she could tell the woman was trying hard to keep a straight face as she placed the food in her mouth. _I feel bad for forcing her to do this, but we can’t have anyone be suspicious._  

When Lapis looked back up from Peridot to the rest of the table she noticed that some of the crew was staring at them with sly smiles and small laughter. Lavender seemed to be the only one who had a straight face and was pretending not to notice their interaction.

When everyone calmed down and finished eating the alcoholic drinks came out and were passed around. Peridot politely declined the drink and Lapis only took a fraction of what she normally would.

Then Pearl stood up with her glass of whiskey and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention, “Hello everyone, I would like to give a toast to the return of someone we haven't seen in almost two years: Lapis Lazuli.” Everyone gave whoops and cheers to Lapis’ official return and settled down so Pearl could continue. “I would also like everyone to welcome her friend Peridot, no last name given.” This time when the group cheered some whistles were thrown in and other unsavory comments. “To clear skies and good times!” Pearl toasted and then everyone downed their beverage of choice.

 _God Damn I was gone for almost two years? Explains why my hair is down to my shoulders and why everyone has been acting like seeing me was some great reunion. I thought I was only gone for a couple months at the most._ When Lapis downed her drink with the others she didn’t move to take another. She noticed that Peridot seemed to be pleased with this.

“Come on, it’s your welcome back party you should have more than that,” Lavender egged on. She then handed Lapis another mug of whiskey that was completely full this time.

“I know, but I’ve really been cutting back on the drinking,” Lapis said putting the drink down.

For the first time that Lapis had seen her Lavender frowned, “We’ll okay. It’s too bad we all wanted to have a good time tonight.”

The rest of the crew began to egg Lapis on slightly encouraging her to drink with them and this made Lapis rethink the offer. “I guess I can have a little bit more,” Lapis said making Lavender and the others perk up.

In the end Lapis ended up downing three mugs of whiskey and talked to Lavender and some of the other crew members for a couple of hours enjoying herself quite thoroughly. Even if some of her more unsavory thoughts were starting to creep up in the back of her mind.  

After mingling with everyone for a while Lavender approached her with nervous look. “So Lapis, I was wondering if-” Lavender started.

But Lapis turned away from her when she felt Peridot tap her on the shoulder, ‘Where do we clean these?’ she asked referring to their plates. But as she said it Lapis noticed that she was off center as if she wasn’t looking directly at her, but behind her for whatever reason.

“Oh, we just take these into the kitchen and it’s Ruby and Sapphire’s job to clean them. I’ll take you to the sink.”

Peridot gave a dirty look to someone behind Lapis and linked their arms together so she could help her as they stumbled into the kitchen. When they got in there they didn’t see Ruby or Sapphire anywhere and a huge pile of dishes was piled near the entrance. Peridot picked a few of them up and started to move them to the sink and began to wash them.

“What’re you doin?” Lapis slurred.

‘Cleaning. Can you bring me some of the other dishes?’

“Sure. Why you doing this though?”

‘I may as well be useful. Besides this is better than being out there.’

Lapis accepted the answer and brought over many of the dishes so Peridot could wash them. Every time she almost fell and dropped a dish Peridot would make sure she was upright and that she wouldn’t fall face first on the floor though sometimes she couldn’t save the poor dishes.

After a while Lapis began to slow and feel tired. _Man, I’m getting cold._ Soon Lapis noticed that every time that she brushed Peridot she radiated warmth. When she finally got all the piled up dishes to the counter she wrapped her arms around Peridot and put her head in the crook of her neck and-

“Ugh. Where am I? I have got to stop blacking out,” Lapis said quietly as she looked around. _Alright. I’m in the sleeping area of the crew area. My clothes are still on. I got completely shit faced and have a killer headache. My last memory is with Peridot. It’s dark- wait where is Peridot?_ She looked around worriedly for her friend and tried to spot her her in the mass of bodies sleeping on the floor in the immediate area. _Oh shit no one did anything to her did they?_ _No Lapis, most of these people are pretty nice and they seem to like her._ _Besides I don’t think Peridot would go off with anyone willingly._

When she calmed down Lapis decided to make her way to the stairs for some fresh air and when she got up to the top deck she noticed that Peridot was looking over the banister to the island that they were on yesterday. “Hey, Peridot. Have you been up this whole time?” Peridot nodded without looking at her. “Why? I was worried when you weren’t near me down there.”

This time Peridot looked at her, ‘It’s a bit too hot down there for me with all the body heat. You seemed comfortable though.’

Lapis felt the air and found it brisk like the temperature of the cave. _I wonder if she was that uncomfortable near the fire or in the midday sun. Or even when we cuddled in the cave._ “Well, I’m glad I found you. You should get some sleep today was a tiring day and we start work tomorrow.”

‘No thanks, I’m fine for an average of three days without sleep or going into a sleep like trance,’ Peridot said and then looked away back to the island.

Lapis looked her over and found that she didn’t believe her. She was hunched over the railing and her eyes looked glassy like. She went into her forgotten bag and pulled out four sets of clothes and put most of them on the deck. “Are you sure? I just set up our bed.”

Peridot looked down at the clothes on the deck and deemed then good enough to lay down on. Lapis laid down next to her like they did before and gave a yawn. With that they finally went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I thought of this story four months ago I was really into the Famethyst and I knew all there names, characteristics, and gem placements. But, it's been a while so if I screw up on a personality or name please tell me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts.

Lapis woke up when she felt someone shaking her incessantly and when she cracked open her eyes she found it was only beginning to get light out and Peridot was laying on top of her softly. “Ugh. Peri, it’s really early o’clock. Why are we up?” _I still have a headache and the sun is not going to be my friend in about a half an hour._

‘After I woke I saw Pearl exit her quarters and looked at us funny.’

“Oh great,” Lapis said. “Pearl seems to have some sort of problem with us being friends or maybe just you, I can’t really tell. I bet she’ll just see this as just another stupid reason to hate us.”

‘I waved to her and smiled.’

“Of course you did.”

‘Is that not what humans do? Greet each other in the morning?’ Peridot asked as she tilted her head.

“Sure. What else did you notice?”

‘She started to check the position of the ship with a compass.’

“Ya, so?”

Peridot put a finger to her lip and gestured to the upper deck. “Garnet can you do anything about the compass?” Pearl asked.

“I’m an engineer. For sails and repairs,” Garnet responded.

“Yes I know, but I would think that you would know how to fix a compass.”

“I would need a magnet.”

“Damn. I guess we’re going by the stars until I can get it fixed or buy a new one.”

“What happened?” Garnet asked in her monotone voice.

“I’m not sure, it just started to go crazy,” Pearl said. Then Peridot looked around quickly to make sure that no one was watching and hovered a small piece of metal back and forth across the deck. “Look! There it goes again.”

“Not sure what would cause it move back and forth like that,” Garnet commented.

Then Pearl and Garnet went to talking about the ship’s designs and stuff that Peridot clearly didn’t deem important because she turned back to Lapis with worry on her face. ‘My powers made the device do that!’

“So? It’s not like you’ll be waving around pieces of metal all the time.”

‘I use them to walk. The compass will follow me around.’

“Right. I forgot about that. Just stay out of her direct line of sight when she’s using the compass. Don’t feel bad about it, she did say that she would just use the stars to navigate. We’ll worry about it when she buys a new compass. Now go back to sleep,” Lapis said testily as she closed her eyes.

Her eyes opened a little bit when Peridot shook her again. ‘You feel bad,’ Peridot said with a frown.

“What?” Lapis’ popped open completely. _What the hell does she mean by that? She doesn’t have to be on top of me if she thinks I’m uncomfortable._ “That’s pretty rude of you to say, Peridot,” Lapis said confused and a little hurt.

‘I mean your emotions. I can feel them you know.’

“Oh? How do I feel?” Suddenly Lapis realized that Peridot’s face was hovering right above her and the woman’s body heat was steadily radiating into her own body.

‘Well, you feel a bit angry and unhappy,’ Peridot said slowly. Peridot then stopped supporting herself with her arms letting her full weight down on Lapis. When she did that Lapis was pinned down and unable to do anything but squirm.

She shivered a bit when she felt Peridot’s hands trace up the length of her body and finally land on her shoulders and began pressing into her. Lapis had to admit that she really did start to feel better when she did this because her headache began to fade and it felt like pure happiness was spreading through her body. “You’re doing a really good job of making me feel better,” Lapis said almost in a dream like state.

‘I’m practiced. Haven’t you noticed that every time you’re unhappy I start to rub your back?’ Peridot questioned lightly. Her sparkling green eyes were half lidded and the rising sun only made her more alluring.

“I’ve noticed once or twice,” Lapis answered breathily. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted that her breathing had slowed and her body temperature rose to the point her skin gathered a thin layer of sweat.

‘Would you like,’ Peridot started as she pressed herself into Lapis further, so close that she could feel Peridot’s breath on her lips, ‘if I started to rub something else?’

Lapis’ mind froze for a solid thirty seconds and felt her face turn fire red as she looked up to Peridot, her heart beating fast, “Excuse me?!” she almost shrieked.

Peridot tilted her head with confusion, ‘Are you okay?’

“Where did you learn something like that?!”

‘Yesterday in the kitchen with the two small people. I wanted to try out some human affection. It seems commonplace on this ship from what I observed during the party and I am supposed to blend in, no?’

 _She looked so innocent as she explained that to me._ “Oh my lord. You are not allowed to be anywhere near Ruby and Sapphire when they’re like that and if you hear or see anything you’re not sure of ask me what it means before you do it.”  

“I’m afraid she’ll have to break that rule.” said a voice from above them. Peridot looked up and Lapis tilted her head back to see an upside down Pearl with a smirk on her face. “Since she did such a good job in the kitchen yesterday, Sapphire and Ruby requested that she help them out.”

Pearl’s eye brow raised while looking at them, “I’m sorry, I can’t read lips like Lapis.”

Peridot looked down to her their faces still close, ‘Can you ask her if I need to go down and help them now?’

“She asked if she needs to go down and help them now,” Lapis said for her.

“That would be preferable. Especially now that Lapis is up and ready to work.”

 _Fuck man, it’s literally the crack of dawn and I need to start working already? That’s bullshit._ Lapis was about to complain when she felt Peridot nuzzle her forehead, ‘I’ll see you soon.’ Then she watched Peridot as she rolled off her and made her way to the kitchen. _Good thing I_ was _hungover and not drunk this morning._

“Well, are you going to get up?” Pearl asked after a moment. “We have a lot things to discuss and work to do.”

“For fucks sake give me a minute Pearl, I’m still hungover from last night,” Lapis said as she got up slowly. _Ugh. Peridot not being here and Pearl’s fucking bitching is causing my headache to come back._

“And I thought that I heard you say last night that you were cutting back.”

“The peer pressure got to me, okay?” Lapis began to put the clothes back into her bag. _At least they aren’t too stained from being on the dirty deck. I need to remember to give Peridot this shirt I packed so she can be more decent on land._

“Peer pressure? That’s an advanced term for someone with the education level that you have.”

 _What the fuck is up with her? She was never this bitchy last time I was here. Oh well, fight fire with fire._ “I’ve been using better words and talking better since Peridot taught me how to read and write.”

Pearl scoffed, “The girl who doesn’t know not to eat rats knows how to read and write? I don’t believe that.”

“She taught herself over years and while I was with her she taught me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Pearl hummed. “Now I need you to look over the sails to make sure that the other crew members have been maintaining and rigging them correctly before we leave.”

“Were they damaged recently?”

“Other than seeing your smoke trail we needed to stop on the island to try to get some materials to fix rope and the sails that tore from a bad storm. I believe Garnet did a fine job with the repairs yesterday, but it’s always good to get a second opinion.”

Lapis’ knowledge and skill of rigging and positioning the sails of the ship seemed to be the one thing that Pearl still admired about her. From hanging out at the boatyard as a child, her years in the navy, and sailing by herself caused her to be one of the best in the business. Lapis nodded, “Understood. I’ll get on it. It’ll take some time though to check everything over.”

Pearl waved her hand, “You have all day, we need to make other general repairs on the ship today anyway. Plus, we won’t be able to leave until I see the stars tonight. I’m not sure if you heard over your foreplay, but my compass is broken and we need something else to guide us home.”

“Home? Are we going to Homeland or New Colony?”

“It’s mid April Lapis, we need to go back to New Colony to get Steven for the summer.”

“Right, I forgot. How long do you think it will take to get there?”

“With this unscheduled stop and the broken equipment that we need to deal with until we get back to dock, I would say at least a month, or perhaps two. Now if you’re done interrogating me, we both have jobs to do,” Pearl said as she turned and walked away.

 _Here I thought we were having a nice conversation._ Lapis let out a large sigh and began climbing the mast. _Time to get to work._

After that life for them became another routine where Lapis and Peridot only saw each other in the morning when they woke up, during meal times, and when they went to sleep. Lapis toiled away checking the sails and the rigs everyday and helping Garnet maintain everything. At night she would go below deck to drink and have fun with the other members of the crew. When Peridot felt like she had too much she would coerce Lapis into going to bed with her or bring her to do another activity.

It was a surprise to Lapis that Peridot was quickly moved around from job to job due to the mistakes she made because she was so good at picking up various skills in the cave. She got moved from the kitchen after she didn’t cook the fish all the way one night which caused a good portion of the crew to get sick. At first most people were mad and didn’t understand her mistake until they saw her down a significant amount of uncooked seafood with gusto and a grin.

Her second job was to help out on deck with everyone else, rigging equipment and making general repairs. Lapis liked this one because they often got to see each other and interact, but Peridot was quickly moved somewhere else when Pearl realized that she couldn’t lift anything heavy. It was also hard for her to make repairs on the deck in the bright light when her eyes weren’t the best which made her put a few more holes in the already damaged ship.

The next was taking inventory below deck for Pearl to make sure that no one was stealing any goods and that everything was in perfect condition. The main problem with this was that Peridot was a lot more interested in catching the rats below deck than her job. As soon as she saw one run across the floor she would stop what she was doing and go chase it. Not only that, but since she lived away from people all her life she didn’t know the names of most goods or what they are supposed to look like causing most of the paperwork she managed to do be wrong.

Pearl had a list of things that Peridot had messed up on in her office that had been getting longer sometimes by the day. Every time she would fail at a job Peridot would need to go into Pearl’s office for a while to speak with her and get assigned a new one. The last job on the list was food collector which Peridot was removed from when she was caught throwing some sea creatures back into the ocean that would have made a good meal.

One day about a month into their journey Pearl came up to Lapis, “Do you have any ideas of what she can do? I’ve almost run out.”

 _It’s about time she came and asked me._ “I don’t know. Maybe you should let her get into a job for more than two days and have her learn it instead of moving her around as soon as she makes the smallest of mistakes.”

“I’m trying to see what she is best at so we don’t waste time training, but she doesn't seem to be naturally good at anything.”

“She didn’t grow up on the docks or on a boat like the rest of us, Pearl.”

“I didn’t either, but I was at least good at some of these things when I really put my mind to it,” Pearl said putting a hand to her forehead.

“She’s not you, Pearl,” Lapis pointed out. _Plus we all know why you tried so hard to adjust to this life._

“Sapphire and Garnet tell me the same thing, but I’m really running out of options.”

 _She seems to actually be kind of upset about this. I guess Peridot is really wearing her down when they have their chats in her office._ “I’m sure you’ll find something. What have you got her doing right now?”

“Catching rats.”

“What! Pearl you know she eats them. She could get sick!” Lapis shouted.

“It’s one of the few things she can do reliably! If I don’t find a job for her soon then you will need to start paying me for room and board.”

 _Like hell we’re doing that._ Just then Peridot came up from below deck and walked over to them. She immediately went to Lapis and nuzzled her forehead lightly and pulling her into a loose hug in greeting like she normally did. When she saw Pearl she gave her an enthusiastic wave. Pearl gave her a small wave and smile as a response. “What have you been up to Peri?” Lapis questioned.

‘I just caught four more rats! They seem to be getting smaller though,’ Peridot said.

“Good job, Peridot,” Lapis said causing the woman to smile wider. _I have to accept that she will always just eat the rats and hopefully her body can handle it better than humans can. Besides, no one really has a problem with it anyway._ “Quick question: can you read the stars?”

Pearl perked up at her inquiry. ‘Of course! I have been looking at the sky since we got on the ship so I could get my bearings on where we are.’

“Really?” Lapis asked glancing up to Pearl making sure that she was still listening.

‘I’m not sure what the light orb patterns are called in your culture, but I know much of the sky from positions of the ice of the cold lands to the warm reefs in the shallow seas.’

“Interesting. Do you think you could help navigate the ship?”

Suddenly Peridot looked unsure almost like she wanted to shy away from Lapis, ‘Navigation? That’s an important job. I’m not sure if I can-’

“If you can read the stars and have done it before I don’t see why you can’t,” Lapis interrupted. She then glanced at Pearl who was watching them with interest, “She can read the stars, but needs a bit of a refresher on the specifics. You think you can help her?”   

“If I can’t, I guess it’ll just be another job on the list. Come on Peridot, I have some astrology books in my quarters.”

Peridot nuzzled Lapis’ head and gave her a quick hug to say goodbye and ran after Pearl. _Hell ya! That was one of my best ideas yet._  


“I shouldn’t have opened my big fucking mouth,” Lapis complained to Amethyst. They were outside on the top deck checking the equipment like Lapis did everyday. Today Amethyst decided to help her and try to learn more about how the sails worked, but they ended up barely working and mostly just talked about their lives and problems.

“Come on dude, it hasn’t been that bad,” Amethyst responded.

“I have barely seen her for two weeks! When Pearl allows her out she is usually too tired to talk to me and during dinner Pearl has her sit in between her and Garnet. At night she tends to stay as far away from me as possible and sleeps facing away from me. I don’t know why it makes Pearl so wet to try to separate us.”

“I doubt that’s what she’s doing. And hey, at least we know that we’re going in the right direction now,” Amethyst pointed out.

“I know,” Lapis huffed. One night when Peridot and her were sleeping together and she wasn’t drunk and Peridot wasn’t too tried to immediately fall asleep, she told Lapis that Pearl was slightly off course before she started to help her. They may have lost a week or two at most because she was rusty at reading stars and Peridot helped her adjust the course. “I would just like to see her for once a day and not when she is run down at night.”

“I miss her being here too. For all her fuckups she sure is fun to have around.”

“To be fair, the last one was your fault,” Lapis pointed out. When Peridot had her other jobs that were on deck Amethyst (and sometimes the other crew) would persuade her to slack off and play pranks and just cause general mischief. The final straw for Pearl was when Amethyst and Jay taught Peridot how to sword fight and they accidentally cut an important rope that held one of the major sails at the correct angle. It caused the ship to move slower for three days and Peridot was promptly banned from daytime upper deck work.

“Not all of them. Remember when she threw that giant octopus that she caught back in the water? That would have made a delicious meal.”

“You know she told me later that night that the octopus was female and was carrying her eggs. I would have felt kind of shitty eating her.”

“Hey, rich people pay good money for fancy animal cruelty like that. No need to deprive the rest of us of that delight.”

“Back to the topic at hand, Pearl is constantly with her in her cabin and it bothers me. Like what are they doing all the time in there?”

“Navigating and looking at maps and shit. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Pearl knows like the rest of us that Peridot is yours by now,” Amethyst said with an eye roll.

“I haven’t claimed her or anything! Did you hear a love speech or see a ring on her?” Lapis said with a light blush.

“No, but everyone knows you guys sleep up here on deck for privacy.”

“That’s not true, we sleep up here because she doesn't like how hot it gets below deck.”

Amethyst gave her a long whistle, “I guess I was wrong, Peridot seems to have claimed you. You’re going soft.”

“What! I’m not going soft. I’m still the badass murdering bitch I was before hand.”

“Only you don’t sleep around, follow the rules, listen and follow Peridot’s every whim,” Amethyst listed off counting on her fingers.

“I just want to make sure that she feels okay, like what if Pearl is brainwashing her or something while they are in the cabin to hate me? For some reason she’s been up my ass since I got here.”

“Really? Like really? You don’t know what you did?” Amethyst asked with a bit of anger.

Lapis turned to Amethyst in surprise, “No?”

“You left.”

“So? People leave the crew all the time.”

“Do they Lapis? Name one person who has left this crew other than you for a reason other than death.”

Lapis thought for a moment, “I...couldn’t tell you.”

“See!” Amethyst almost shouted. “You didn’t just leave the crew behind, you left her and Steven behind.”

“Woah, woah, woah, calm down. Steven is the one who encouraged me to leave in the first place to find myself. Pearl and I didn’t have anything more than maybe a friends with benefits relationship. If we were even friends to begin with.”

“Steven was still upset when you left without barely a goodbye. Do you really think that’s what Pearl though you had?”

Lapis felt herself get cold, “No, I mean I know we comforted each other after a few rough nights and we slept together and stuff, but I didn’t really think anything of it.”

“Well, did you ever talk to her about it? Did you ever think of how she would react to it?”

“No, but-”

“And that’s why she’s so mad at you! You leave and most of us think we’ll never see you again and then you show back up apparently going native for a year and a half with some woman that none of us has ever seen before acting like you’re Ruby and Sapphire!” Amethyst shouted.

“Come on Amethyst, how was I supposed to know me leaving would affect her that much? Besides it’s not like anything would have worked out with us in the long run,” Lapis countered. When she said that a buried memory surfaced of an intimate night with Pearl. One filled with tears and regret as Pearl hopelessly called her Rose and Lapis begging her to do things to her that Jasper usually did and it made her eyes in the present become just as wet as they did in the past. “How do you know all this anyway? And why are you defending her like this when you never did before?”

Amethyst slid down the railing to the floor, “Who do you think she confided in when you left? Steven’s a kid, Ruby and Sapphire are like her parents, and Garnet is usually quiet and doesn’t show emotions.” At this point Amethyst was looking down into her open hands with sad eyes.

Lapis went and sat down next to her, “And now you feel bad for the woman who was a slave and never had anyone who truly loved her like she wanted to be loved?”

“No, I don’t feel bad for her. Wait, no that’s a lie I guess I do a little bit. But, it’s more of an admiration. During those times she told me stories of being in battle and all the things that she went through and I just think she is the most amazing person I’ve ever met for making it through all of that,” Amethyst said with a long sigh.

Lapis looked at her friend oddly for a moment. _Damn that’s a sound I’ve never heard her make before and it looks like she has stars in her eyes or something. Wait. Oh my lordy lord. I bet she fell in love with Pearl._ Lapis swallowed at the realization, “I think we’re a couple of hopeless fuckers.”

Amethyst gave a tired laugh, “Ya I think we are too. So when do you think you and your lady will tie the knot?”

“Man, I told you we’re not like that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think she really understands the whole relationship thing and I’m just-I’m afraid. I’m so afraid,” Lapis said as tears started to spill from her and she began shaking. Thoughts that were usually only in her mind when she drank were invading her mind.

Amethyst must have noticed the shaking because she looked up at her with surprise, “It’s okay man, you don’t need to let it all out in one day.”

Lapis nodded but stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Then after a few deep breaths she continued the conversation with Amethyst who was looking up to the pale blue sky, “What about you? Have you told Pearl anything?”

“Anything about what?” Amethyst asked quickly.

“Don’t play that with me I can tell, but if you won’t make me talk I won’t make you either.”

“Just don’t tell the rest of the family, okay? We’re almost ten years apart and she has so much more experience than me in like, everything. Besides most of the time she treats me like I’m a kid even though I’ve been trying to improve. I slack off less, I eat with a fork and knife now, and I’ve even cut back on the booze. At least you really seem like you have a shot with Peridot sometime in the future."

 _Do I though? She’s at least a hundred years older than me and a hundred times out of my league and she’s not even human. The only times she seems to be attracted to me is when she is trying to mimic other people._ “Not sure about that. She’s just so pure and nice and fun.”

Amethyst laughed, “And I bet you think I’m the one far down that rabbit hole. Peridot is definitely those things almost to the point that she doesn't seem human!” Amethyst laughs at her own comment and Lapis felt her heart stop for a moment. “She’s just always so happy and so animal like. The only time anyone hasn’t seen her happy is when Lavender is trying to put the moves on you at night.”

“Wait. Lavender is-”

Amethyst ignored her interruption and continued on, ”I’ve never seen a woman on land or sea down the types of food that she does either! Hey, if she was a mythical creature which one do you think she’d be? My vote is dragon.”

“Ummm,” Lapis started nervously, “I would have to say a succubus.”

“Really? I guess that kinda fits with how well she charms everyone.”

They talked for a little while longer until they decided that they should get back to work.   


Later Lapis laid out the clothes on their designated sleeping area on the top deck and she waited for Peridot to come out of Pearl’s room. They eventually did to check the stars and the positions on the map and Lapis heard them agree that they would meet back about every other hour to check the course. Peridot finally collapsed next to her, “Tired?” Lapis asked with a yawn.

Peridot looked at her with almost closed eyes, “Yes.” She settled down so she was about a few inches away from Lapis.

“How come you are always so far away from me?” Lapis asked finally. _Amethyst is right I really need to start getting to the root of my problems instead of just the clipping the leaves._

‘You seem to get uncomfortable when I lay on you or I am too close to you.’

“No, I like it it when we sleep together like that,” Lapis admitted. “But, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she quickly added. _Amethyst is right, I’m going soft._

‘No, I like it,’ Peridot mouthed with her eyes closed. She moved over and closed the gap between them and snuggled into Lapis. ‘I like how you feel.’

 _I can almost feel the happiness and comfort radiating off of her. Maybe tomorrow I’ll ask Peridot exactly what her and Pearl are doing and while I’m at it I should probably smooth things over with Pearl._ Lapis gave a content sigh and wrapped her arms around Peridot’s soft curves and began to drift off into sleep. _But that problem is for tomorrow._ “I like the way you feel, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of my favorites to write!  
> Next chapter will probably take some time because it's special :)


	12. Humans are Weird Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot Communicating  
> Italics are Peridot's thoughts

Peridot woke up early because she always woke up early. Not only because she needed less sleep than the average human and she liked to look at the stars, but she also liked looking at Lapis when she was asleep. When she was asleep Peridot could snuggle into her warm body and make sure that her nightmares ceased. 

Sometimes, Lapis woke her up when she squirmed too much and made noises in her sleep so Peridot would have to (regrettably) untangle herself from Lapis and run her fingers through her hair or lightly massage her back and shoulders. The motions would cause a smile to come to her lovely face and the aura around her would return to normal.

If Peridot got up at the right time she could catch the nightmares before they really start to form which is what she did tonight.  _ I wish she would terminate the liquor. It would make our nights much more pleasing if she did.  _ She decided to just run her fingers through Lapis’ semi-long blue hair to help her groom it. 

Peridot was leaning over her slightly while grooming her when the human designated as Pearl walked out of her chambers. She stared at the odd pair laying on the deck together for a minute with a frown.  _ From my observations I have concluded that Pearl is the Leader of this group. It is an odd anomaly given her small stature compared to the other group members, but it is easy to accept. To have a high social standing I must make sure my new Leader finds me an integral component or at least have a satisfactory bond with her or the other members of the crew.  _ So Peridot decided to smile brightly at Pearl and wave at her excitedly. 

Pearl took a deep breath and ignored her as she went up some stairs to where the steering wheel of the ship was.  _ I have performed an average human morning ritual in greeting and hopefully she will start to depend and expect it most mornings.  _ Peridot nodded to herself and turned her focus to her metal feet which she forgot to take off the previous night. 

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to feel everything around her. Unlike the bottom of the ocean and on the island the ship had a lot of metal on it, so she had to be very precise when she used her powers. She let out her breath and felt the metal on her feet expand and contract and began to adjust the pieces of her feet so they wouldn’t chave her so much. 

“What’s going on?” said a light voice from above her. Peridot quickly moved her head to try to observe the situation. “Now it’s pointing north again? Perhaps it was just a fluke.” After a moment Peridot turned her attention back to her feet and tried to adjust them once more. “There it goes again! I should go get Garnet.”

Peridot heard footsteps coming towards her and very carefully she laid herself on top of Lapis lightly to mimic sleep.  _ Perhaps this is not a fish. I have an inkling that my powers are to blame for that, I hope Leader won’t suspect me. Then again, Lapis told me that humans do not possess powers as I do.  _ She waited until she heard two sets of footsteps pass them one light and dance like and the other firm and precise before lifting herself to shake Lapis awake.  

Lapis cracked open her beautiful cerulean eyes and looked up at her, “Ugh. Peri, it’s really early o’clock. Why are we up?”

She explained to Lapis about the compass and they overheard Pearl and Garnet’s conversation while she waved around a small piece of metal.  

“Right. I forgot about that. Just stay out of her direct line of sight when she’s using the compass. Don’t feel bad about it, she did say that she would just use the stars to navigate. We’ll worry about it when she buys a new compass. Now go back to sleep,” Lapis said testily as she closed her eyes.

Through their conversation the aura around Lapis quickly turned negative and Peridot decided to say something about it. When she did Lapis seemed offended and asked her specifically how she felt.  _ Yesterday with the small people and at the party I observed that many humans had pleasurable and excited emotions when they are near each other while displaying a copious amount of physical contact.  _

When Peridot stopped supporting herself with her arms she let her full weight down on Lapis like Ruby did to Sapphire last night to pin her to the deck. She noticed that the blue haired woman’s heart started to speed up as she squirmed under her. Then she traced her hands up Lapis’ sides to her shoulders and felt her shiver. _Ah, a fine reaction. It seems I am doing this correctly judging by her increasing heart rate and shallowness of breath._

Lapis complemented her and relaxed further into her touch and Peridot felt the woman’s emotions improved dramatically. She lidded her own eyes as Lapis’ emotions were having an effect on her as well. They were starting to overwhelm her with so much with happiness and pleasure that Peridot could practically taste them in the air, and to her they tasted divine. 

The warmth of the rising sun caused her to warm along with Lapis’ blazing body beneath her and Peridot kept her mouth open slightly to get more oxygen. When Lapis spoke to her, her speech as labored from her slow breath and sweat started to sheen on her body. 

‘Would you like,’ Peridot started as she pressed herself into Lapis further, so close that she could see Lapis’ eyes sparkle with anticipation, ‘if I started to rub something else?’

Lapis’ eyes widened greatly and her face turned as red as a salmon as she looked up to Peridot.  _ Did I do everything correctly? I am sure I followed the common steps I observed. _ “Excuse me?!” Lapis shrieked.

_ I was incorrect. It almost looks like she just awoke from a nightmare.  _ Peridot tentatively asked Lapis if she was okay. 

“Where did you learn to say something like that?!” Lapis yelled.

‘Yesterday in the kitchen with the two small people. I wanted to try out some human affection. It seems commonplace on this ship from what I observed during the party and I am supposed to blend in, no?’  _ I am very confused.  _

Lapis told (ordered) her to never go near the small people and then Pearl came down from the upper deck silently, and undermined Lapis’ previous order and told them that Peridot has to go down to the kitchen. Peridot looked at Pearl, ‘Do I need to go down to the kitchen now?’

Pearl just looked at her funny when Peridot spoke to her.  _ I forgot. This will be just like when Lapis first came into my care.  _ Lapis got the answer for her and then Peridot looked down at her while her and Pearl were about to get into a shouting match.  _ All it took for her to be angry again is Leader speaking to her.  _ Peridot gave a small humpf and nuzzled Lapis’ head and she felt Lapis’ emotions change for the better which caused happiness to shoot through her own body.  __

Peridot bid her partner farewell and went below deck to the kitchen. Honestly she was glad she was sent to the lowest deck because her eyes felt a lot better when in the dark. When she got down there she saw most of the crew passed out all over the place. She carefully stepped over all of the people and made it to the kitchen (amazingly) without tripping.  

When she got there she looked in the kitchen with wide eyes.  _ What happened! I cleaned this area last night!  _ It looked like the kitchen area had random bits of food thrown on the wall, broken dishes and mugs all over the place, and just general chaos. Sapphire and Ruby were nowhere to be found, so Peridot just silently sighed to herself and began to clean everything.

She scrapped the food off the walls, cleaned up most of the broken glass, and reorganized everything. She took pride in it like she did when she first started to collect things in her cave keeping them in perfect order. Even now she put the knives and the cutting boards in descending size order and she made sure that the pickled jars were organized by use by date. 

Sapphire and Ruby walked in holding hands while she was making sure that all of their equipment was at the correct degree measurement for optimal performance. “Oh my! This place looks great. I’m surprised that you’re down here already. It looks like you’ve already gotten to work,” Sapphire said to her smiling. Peridot nodded enthusiastically.

Ruby looked at her sheepishly with a small blush on her face, “Ya. the kitchen looks great. And I-um, I’m sorry about the comment that I made last night about you being silent while Sapphire and I were busy. I didn’t know you were mute.” Peridot just waved her hand in dismissal and gave Ruby a thumbs up to tell her it was okay. 

“Alright,” Sapphire said as she clapped her hands together, “Since it is your first day on the ship you need to know that here in the kitchen we make two meals a day for the crew. Now we need to start breakfast and get it done before everyone starts to get up.”

“I’ll get the oven ready!” Ruby shouted. 

“Ruby is really good with lighting a fire,” Sapphire said with a giggle. Her comment also made Ruby blush and smile brighter. Peridot looked confused at their silent language and decided to ask Lapis about that later.

Peridot first helped Sapphire cut up fish and other pickled things while Ruby setup the oven. After a few attempts Peridot got the hang of cutting up the fish and Sapphire went to get the dishes set up.  _ No wonder these humans need to eat so much, they get rid of the best parts of their meals. Head, bones, guts, all discarded as if they were worthless.  _

Every once and awhile Peridot would be able to scarf them down when she was sure that they weren’t looking which was relatively often because they seemed to always be looking at each other.  _ Of course they would want to enlist help when they seem to be too distracted in each other’s bodies to do things efficiently.  _ Peridot would put discarded remains of fish in a bucket and once it was near full Sapphire (and sometimes Ruby after a lovely speech about how much she loved her) would take the bucket upstairs and come back with it empty. Then they cooked the food (which smelled awful to Peridot) and placed it on the plates that were put out.

Usually by the end of food times (and especially by the end of the night) the kitchen was a mess again and Ruby and Sapphire would have disappeared leaving Peridot to clean the kitchen. Every time they saw the two would complement her on the kitchen and reassure her that she really didn’t need to clean it so thoroughly every time seeing as it would get messy again.  _ How can they say that? Do they not see the condition of the space by the end of the night? _

Since she would spend so much time in the kitchen she would be below deck during the crew’s nightly parties filled with laughter, loudness, and extensive drinking. She would peer out of the safety of the cooking area and see the people she met act unsightly, getting into fights with each other, and pinning each other to walls and tables. Peridot didn’t care much unless she saw Lapis doing much of the same with the others. Though she was never pinned or pressed into hard surfaces, Lapis did get into some fights.

More times than she liked Peridot would have to go out into the fray and drag Lapis into the kitchen before she had too much to drink or she would get seriously injured. During their time in the cave Peridot had come to the conclusion that Lapis could have about half a jug of the liquid to be emotional, three fourths to act completely not like her, and (from observation during these parties) a full jug or more would knock her out. 

Usually when Peridot stepped out of the kitchen some of the women would try to get her to drink, dance, or engage in courtship which she respectfully declined. Most let her be and laughed a bit when they saw her drag Lapis into the kitchen making comments like, “Looks like Lapis is getting some tonight!”

Peridot didn’t really know what the word  some meant in that context but, usually after Lapis got into a fight the only though Peridot had was:  _ all Lapis is getting tonight is some healing potion to close up some cuts.  _

The only one who ever gave her trouble was one member of the crew named Lavender. In short, Peridot didn’t like Lavender. She was two or maybe even three times her size, always loud, drinking, and **always** around Lapis every night. Sometimes she would have her large hands around Lapis’ waist and look at her hungrily before Peridot would pull her away.  

“Hey! Where do you think you’re taking her?” Lavender would yell.

Since Peridot couldn’t speak all she did was point to the kitchen. Most of the time others were around them trying to talk sense to Lavender or try to make her calm down. Someone like Jay would say, “Look at Lapis, Lavender. I think she’s had enough for tonight.” Which was true, often when Peridot pulled her away Lapis wouldn’t really know where she was.

Carnelian would chime, “You know her and Lapis kinda have a thing.” Words like these always seemed to make the large woman angrier. Even if Peridot really didn’t know what the  thing was, she would have to agree.

Sometimes even the quiet Chip would add, “You would kinda be taking advantage of her even if Peridot wasn’t here.” Another true statement seeing as Lavender sometimes asked Lapis to go somewhere quiet with her when Lapis could barely walk or speak. 

The retorts that Lavender gave back always ranged from huffs to angry shouts in her own defense. Peridot was always grateful that there was always many eyes on them when they made their way back to the kitchen. It always stopped a brawl between her and Lavender from breaking out. Regularly, Peridot would start sizing up the larger woman.  _ I’m not sure if I could win in a battle with her, but I would fight until my end if I had to.  _ Her interactions with Lavender were almost the only times Peridot was ever angry. 

Frequently, she felt that she was angry with Lapis for drinking in the first place, but when she would wake up the next morning hungover, (hungover was a word Peridot learned quickly) with a blank memory she couldn’t stay mad. She was also mad at herself most of the time for letting Lapis drink so much and screwing up all of the tasks that Pearl gave her. 

The first was her beloved kitchen duty a little over two weeks into it. Sometimes the smalls would go off and leave her alone to finish the meals.  _ I don’t think that I can continue eating this gross cooked fish. One night is all I ask. Besides, the others should be grateful for this.  _ So she ended up not cooking most of the seafood all the way and it was a surprise to her when everyone was sick sometime later.

“Peridot you need to cook it all the way!” Ruby shouted at her

‘Why?’ Peridot wrote. Sometimes when they wanted to have a conversation in the kitchen Peridot would take the excess fish blood and write something in it. Only Sapphire could read it because she was educated, but it was better than nothing. Often times the couple gave her life advice that often pertained to her and Lapis.    

“Under cooked raw food can get people sick,” Sapphire answered with her usual monotone.

Some of the crew were less understanding than Sapphire, and the next day they forced her to sit down as they put a huge tray of raw seafood in front of her. Most of them looked slightly confused and concerned when she looked around and then started to devour it with her bare hands.  _ They even left in the guts! I must be accepted if they are offering so much food! _

“Did we all forget that she is the girl who caught a rat and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth?” a woman called Skinny brought up. Many of the crew nodded and murmured in agreement. 

“We should find another way to get back at her,” someone said from the back of the crowd. This suggestion was met with some agreement, but most said they should just forget it. 

While she was stuffing her face she heard a familiar set of footsteps and mumbling from the stairs, “Fuckin’ Pearl and her god damn-Peridot what are you doing?!” Lapis yelled.

Peridot looked down at the pile and saw it was almost gone so she put some of the best parts (guts and fish eyes) in her hand and held it out to Lapis in offering. 

“No thank you, I don’t want any,” Lapis told her with a slightly irritated voice, but also with a small smile. “You can eat with your hands this time, but next time eat with a knife and fork,” Lapis instructed. She looked like she was done with the day with her hair all messed up probably due to the wind and bags under her eyes. But, to Peridot she still looked as pretty as she did anytime in the cave. She smiled at her blue  heliopora and nodded digging back into her food. 

Lapis then turned to the other crew members with accusation, “Did you guys tell her that she could do this?”

The crew mumbled to themselves again until they pushed Lavender out to the front with someone whispering, “She likes you the best.”

Lavender put a hand to the back of her head and looked a little apologetic, “We were all just mad that she served us raw food and we wanted a little bit of revenge and you know you can’t really prank her because of how happy she is.”

Even though Peridot was still eating her food she was watching the interaction with extreme interest. “When she found me is when she started eating cooked, gutted, and cleaned foods. Your little pay back prank does nothing for her. You know what? It’s really cruel of you guys to pick on someone, especially a disabled person at that, for making a mistake,” Lapis scolded. 

The rest of the crew looked down ashamed and gave Peridot some half hearted apologies. By this time she finished all of her food and was looking at the scene with interest.  _ When she says it like that she mildly reminds me of Leader.  _ ‘Why are you down here?’ she asked Lapis. 

“Oh, right. Pearl wants to talk with you in her cabin. You’re getting a new job.”

_ Ah! Another opportunity to assure my status!  _ Peridot nodded happily and quickly rose from her seat. She was about to run upstairs when she looked Lapis over for a moment and promptly wrapped her arms around her and nuzzled her head. ‘Thank you.’

Lapis nuzzled her head in return, “No problem.”

Peridot ran up the stairs- _ I didn’t trip this time!-  _ and into Pearl’s office swiftly. She may have gone too fast because when she hit Pearl’s door it swung open with a loud bang startling the woman. From the door opening faster than she anticipated Peridot fell flat on her face with a loud THUNK.   

“Are you okay?” Pearl asked with a voice laced with mild concern.

Peridot made sure to rise fast so she could make a good impression.  _ Never ever show pain.  _ She repeated that in her head a few times so she could drown out her screaming throbbing face. 

She nodded and sat down in the chair in front of Pearl’s desk and looked around the room again. It reminded her of her treasure room back in the cave because it was an organized mess. Though, it looked like more of a mess than it did when Peridot was in there the first day and looking back to her first day on the ship, Pearl looked a bit more like a mess herself. Books were out of order on the shelf, papers were everywhere, and everything looked slightly askew. 

Only two things seemed to have escaped the chaos and were completely neat and orderly in the space one being her bead at the back of the room. The other a large wooded rectangle that was decorated with two large stained glass roses on either side of it that had a small bench tucked underneath it. 

“So, since you decided to poison a good portion of the crew you’re being moved out of the kitchen,” Pearl stated. She saw Peridot’s dejected face and added, “Don’t feel too bad that’s not the only reason, Sapphire and Ruby wanted more urm, alone time. Now, Lapis and Sapphire informed me that you can write. I would like you to prove it.”

Pearl placed an ink pot, a quill pen, and a piece of clean paper in front of her. Peridot looked at her, ‘I haven’t really used a pen in a while. I ran out of ink when I was in my cave.’

“I can’t understand you, Peridot,” Pearl said as she leaned back in her chair. “Though your lack of action suggests that Lapis and Sapphire lied to me.”

‘Lapis didn’t lie,’ Peridot huffed. She picked up the pen much like she did the fork and dipped it in the ink pot. She crudely, but correctly wrote out, ‘My name is Peridot.’ She looked at her own work with a dissatisfied frown. It was a lot more wobbly and not as flowing as she usually liked so she wrote more sentences and words until they looked halfway decent. By the end the paper was half filled with nonsense, but it was better looking nonsense. She finally looked up to Pearl who was watching her quietly with interest the whole time and wrote, ‘My apologies, it’s been awhile since I’ve written with quill and ink.’

“That’s quite alright. From what I’ve heard you were self taught, correct?” Pearl asked now leaning in on her desk studying Peridot with interest. 

‘Yes,’ Peridot wrote. ‘I recently taught Lapis as well, but in drawing. She has not used a quill.”

Pearl gave a curt nod. “I must say, I’m surprised at your skill. Now that we can communicate I would like to hear your opinion of your newest job,” Pearl paused a moment. Peridot made a rolling gesture with her hands for her to continue. “You will be outside with the rest of the crew rigging equipment and doing general things up on deck. What do you think about that?”

Peridot gave her a determined look, ‘I will do what is ultimately beneficial to the group in the most full and efficient manner I can.’ 

Pearl gave her a small smile, “Good. Now you can go outside with everyone else.”

“Come on Peridot! You can do it!” Skinny and Chip yelled.

_ If I wasn’t trying to push this box I would question the legitimacy of the names of the PEOPLE ON THIS SHIP! WHAT IS IN THIS BOX!?  _ Peridot pushed it with all her might, but the box wouldn’t even budge an inch. She decided to stop pushing and leaned on the box breathing heavily. She looked at the box with a dejected face of failure which made her two onlookers frown.

“Hey man, it’s okay. We can bring the box back downstairs,” Chip said walking near her.

Peridot sprang up and shook her head side to side quickly.  _ I have to do this! There is no reason I should fail. I can feel the objects in the crate they are metal.  _ She just continued to push it without the aid of her powers remembering Lapis’ instructions not to use them. She managed to move the box two inches with sheer determination.

This time Skinny spoke, “While I’m impressed that you were actually able to move the thing, I think you should let us do it. You just don’t have the muscle for it, buddy.”

Peridot looked at her skinny pale arms that had little to no muscle attached to them and then to Skinny’s darker arms. The other woman was definitely right, despite her nickname she was still as toned at the rest of the crew. Chip was the like the rest of her family on the ship tall, big, and beefy.

Eventually they convinced Peridot to let them do it and Peridot looked around for another thing that she could lift. Everything she tried was too heavy for her stick like arms and Chip and Skinny would need to lift it for her. 

“Peridot, it’s okay that you can’t do this. Not everyone is cut out for this type of work. Why don’t you help fix that banister over there. Amethyst never finished it,” Skinny said pointing her to it. 

Peridot nodded and went to the banister and sat down then she grabbed it and shook it lightly. It moved with her almost freely showcasing the shotty craftsmanship. She had a set of tools, but she forgot what they were called exactly. She had seen Amethyst use them before, so she got the gist of it. Hit the small piece of metal with the bigger piece of metal so it holds the two pieces of wood together. 

Long-ass story shortened by a bit, Peridot with a combination of blurry vision and almost no knowledge of tools managed to almost completely break the banister and put a new hole or two in the deck. Eventually, Jay saw what she was doing and calmly picked her up and brought her back into Pearl’s office. 

“Oh, hello Peridot, Jay. What can I do for you two?” Pearl asked.

Jay gently placed Peridot down in the chair she was in earlier that day. “Captain no offense, but what were you thinking sending her out there? She can’t do any heavy lifting and she just put a few more holes in the ship because she can’t use tools.”

‘I tried,’ Peridot wrote on the paper in front of her.

“That you did, my girl. I suggest you find her something else to do,” Jay said as she walked out. 

“I thought you said you could do the job,” Pearl said with a little bit of anger flowing into her usually calm voice.

‘I said that I would try my hardest, and technically I didn’t say anything,’ Peridot countered. 

Pearl tilted her head and Peridot couldn’t quite figure out what it meant, “I suppose you’re right.” They were silent for a moment until Pearl continued on, “I guess we’ll need to find something else for you to do. Now how do you feel about taking inventory below deck?”

‘Sounds good to me!’ Peridot wrote.

A few hours later a delightfully happy Peridot and a very tired Pearl stepped back into Pearl’s cabin. “If that sounded good to you, I would think you were deaf as well as mute,” Pearl muttered.

‘Those rats were pretty good, though,’ Peridot wrote slowly. 

“Peridot, you really don’t seem like the type of person, but I need to ask. Are you doing this on purpose?” Pearl asked.

Peridot looked at Pearl and tilted her head, ‘Doing what?’

She accidentally didn’t write it this time, but it seemed like Pearl understood what she said anyway. Pearl just looked at her, her brow furrowed trying to decide what to do next. “I guess we’ll just start a list, and hopefully we’ll find something you can do soon. You may go rest for the night I’m sure that Lazuli needs you by now,” Pearl said. She like everyone else was well aware that Peridot pulled her out of partying too hard most nights. 

Peridot went to get up when she decided to take in Pearl’s appearance because she looked like she was almost as disheveled as her living space. She was starting to look like Lapis, meaning the bags and black under her eyes and she had the noticeable fatigue from a long night.  _ But, I don’t recall her drinking at any point. In fact I don’t really recall her coming below deck in a while either. _

“Is there a reason why you are still here and staring at me?” Pearl asked somewhat annoyed. 

‘Are you doing alright?’ Peridot wrote.

Pearl’s eyes slightly widened when she read it, “Yes, I am fine. Please leave.” Her voice slightly wobbled at end of the command, but Peridot respected her authority and left at her request.

The next day the captain looked worse than before and when Peridot tried to ask her if she was okay, Pearl just ignored her and gave Peridot her next job on the ship. It was to wash the upper deck during the heat of the day when everyone took a break and the water would evaporate fastest.

It would have been great because Peridot loved cleaning, but Amethyst, Carnelian, and Sharky commandeered her every chance they got to help them with something. Often it wasn’t even something productive, but with what Amethyst called a prank, and apparently they had tried to prank her before but she didn’t noticed. After a couple hours and many people slipping on soap later, Pearl called her back to get a new job.

“I bet it was primarily Amethyst who did this to you, she’s always getting into something. And here I thought she was actually growing up and knew better than to take advantage of you like that! I’m going to yell at her so much later.” Pearl ranted.

‘I willingly went along with her,’ Peridot wrote in Amethyst’s defense. Peridot liked Amethyst she was funny, kind, and was close with Lapis. Sometimes when she was trying to put Lapis to bed she would tell Peridot stories about her and Amethyst and all the mischief they got in. Peridot had to admit she did feel a little ache in her chest when Lapis talked about Amethyst like that until she really started to observe Amethyst.

Amethyst was like some of the various older females of her old group, in that she always seemed to be trying to gain the favor of the Leader. Often Peridot would watch Amethyst try to impress Pearl in some way which would (usually) lead to Pearl either ignoring the act or have Pearl yell at her for doing it. When Peridot asked her about her courting Pearl she furiously denied it, but Peridot had worked with Ruby and Sapphire long enough to know what the longing glances on Pearl’s body every time she walked away from Amethyst meant. 

“She is very persuasive, Peridot. Not only that, but no offense, but you seem to be easily taken,” Pearl pointed out.

_ That may be true, but that was a rude statement.  _ ‘And you seem like you need some sleep.’

Pearl actually gave a small laugh to her sass and continued on, “Alright, how about you go up to do look out? All you have to do is climb up the big mast and sit up there and look out for danger, sound good?”

Pearl was looking at her, but it seemed like she was also looking behind her and all around her. She was also swaying slightly and looked very pale, ‘while I’m doing that can you get some sleep?’ Peridot wrote.

“Peridot, I’m fine. Just do do your job,” Pearl commanded.

Peridot rolled her eyes and followed her order. When she got outside she saw Lapis and ran at her, almost knocking her over when she hugged her. “Oof! Peridot you need to give me some warning before you do that,” Lapis said sternly though returning the hug quickly. Peridot nuzzled her head, “So, what are you up to now? Pearl give you another job?”

Peridot nodded and pointed to the top of the mast and then gave a silent laugh at herself. ‘I forgot I could talk to you! Pearl told me to climb that and look out for danger.’

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Can you even climb that? Do you even know what you would be looking for?” Lapis questioned with concern.

‘Lapis, I’m pretty sure I can climb that thing. If I wanted to I can do anything!’ Peridot told her with confidence.

Lapis smiled, “You sure can. Now when you’re up there you need to look out for things like reefs, rocks, other ships, sea creatures, and bad weather. Anything that looks like will give the ship trouble, alright?”

‘Okay.’ Peridot said. Then she pressed herself further into Lapis’ arms so they were against each other and snuggled into her chest.

Lapis swallowed, “Really missed me, huh?”

Peridot looked up to her, ‘I always miss you.’ Lapis tightened her grip on her so that her arms were on Peridot’s mid back and leaned her head down a bit.  _ I like how she feels now, radiating happiness and that certain type of pleasure.  _

“You guys gonna start making out or something? Cause of you do, ya might want to get a private room,” Amethyst said indifferently. 

Lapis jumped and moved away from her and cleared her throat, “No, I was just instructing her on what to look out for in the crow’s nest.”

Peridot tugged on Lapis’ shirt, ‘Is making out the motion you do with your lips? I thought that was called kissing?”

Lapis looked at her with a slightly red face, “Yeah kinda. Listen I’ll talk to you about all this stuff later. How about you climb the mask using those pegs and get to your job before the ship crashes.” 

Peridot went to the mast and began to climb up and listened to part of their conversation below her. “Damn! I knew she didn’t wear a support top from the way she jiggles, but I had no idea she went commando too!” Amethyst laughed from below.

“Don’t you look at her like that!” Lapis yelled.

“Wow you sound like someone who hasn’t fucked her-”

“Amethyst FUCK OFF!” Lapis yelled from below.

Even if she heard it, Peridot paid little mind to the conversation because she was too focused on climbing, digging her sharp metal feet into the wood so she wouldn’t fall and holding onto the pegs with her hands. She finally got up to the bucket on top and sat down, back straight and alert looking into her home. 

After a few hours her back slouched slightly, she had a slight head ache, and her skin was burning from sitting in the sun.  _ My job is to just watch? It’s not a dreadful job, but I would have thought that I would have seen peril by now.  _ Peridot looked down to the deck and watched some of the crew move around. She couldn’t put a name on most of the people because of the view, but she could see a lovely head of blue walk around with a person who had a flowing purple mane.

Peridot gave a relaxed sigh watching Lapis from above.  _ Almost like those feathered winged humans from some of the tales I read.  _ She felt herself smiling unconsciously as she watched Lapis freak out probably over something Amethyst said.  _ FOCUS! What if danger comes in the way of the ship? Then my new group would perish along with Lapis. No, I would find a way to save Lapis...and Amethyst. And Pearl. And Sapphire. Oh, I’m not sure I could save so many people if the situation arose. _

That thought reinvigorated her and made her sit up and stare at the ocean more.  _ I have to pay absolute attention or else something could happen and I would not have a way to fix it! I need to be vigilant, focused, and concentrate on the prosperity of the group! _

She went back to looking at the ocean and it looked like it was flat, but also like it was moving up and down with small creases and white foam dotted the surface.  _ It looks so different being far overhead instead of looking up to the vast blue up here.  _ Watching the surface calmed her and put her into a trance like state looking at the water, but not really seeing. Looking at it had a calming effect on her and it made her want to reach into her satchel and read the journal that she had and read the book she brought while listening to the ocean.

Then she heard a fluttering sound from the left side of her. She glanced over and saw a sea bird that landed on one of the logs holding up the sail.  _ I must have stayed so static that the animal  doesn’t realize I’m here.  _ Peridot kept her focus on the ocean, but it shifted again as soon as the bird started to preen itself. 

Birds were something of a rarity treat to her kind. You could only catch them if you were quick and caught it off guard. Usually when one was caught it had to immediately be given to the Leader who would decide exactly what to do with it. Her attention waned from the blue and went to the bid that was no more than two feet away from her.

Peridot felt her mouth water as she slowly get into a crouching position. In a snap she sprang up and lunged from the bird who noticed the attack a mere two seconds after it had sprung and tried to fly away. It was too late however, because Peridot’s hands clasped around it’s body and neck as they fell all the way down.

It took Peridot a moment to realize that she would not be falling into a vast liquid pool that would not kill her.  _ Should have thought this through! What do I do? My healing potions wouldn’t be able to save me here.  _

As she was thinking she reached the top of the deck and landed standing straight up with a large audible crack and the dead bird in her hands. There was immediate noise and worry from the crew and Lapis came running over to her.

Lapis put her hands on Peridot’s shoulders and looked her over, “Peridot what happened! Are you okay?!” 

‘I was up there and now I’m down here,’ Peridot responded stepping back. Then she held out the deceased bird to Lapis, ‘Are you hungry?’ she asked.

“No, Peridot! Are you sure you’re okay? You fell from a really far up.”

Peridot smiled and nodded, ‘I’m fine, my feet protected me. I didn’t fall, I jumped so I could get this bird.’

Lapis looked at her, her eye twitching slightly and took a deep breath, “Peridot, you are not allowed to climb that anymore.”

‘But that’s my-’

“No, no it’s not. You are going to go into Pearl’s cabin and getting a new job.”

Lapis didn’t look angry per say, but she looked worked up and overly concerned. Peridot nodded to her and walked into Pearl’s office with her head down while listening to Lapis order around the crew so they could fix the damage she had done to the floor. 

She carefully opened the door and closed it softly as well, “So, you’re back already?” 

Peridot jumped and looked over at Pearl at her desk. She looked tired and rundown before, but now she looked like she was ready to implode. She quickly made her way to the chair to write her response, ‘did you sleep at all while I was gone?’

“Of course not. I have much too much work to do. Especially now that I need to find you new jobs every couple of hours,” Pearl snapped.

‘You won’t be able to keep this up,’ Peridot wrote.

“I have to!” Pearl shouted, her eyes becoming wet.

‘Why?’ Peridot asked.

“Because I do. Now your next job is to fix up the cots below deck during the daytime,” Pearl ordered. She looked back down at her book. 

Peridot stayed.

“Why haven’t you left yet? I gave you an order. Now, I wouldn’t want to have to call Jay or Sharky in here to carry you out of my office because I will and-”

Peridot reached out and put a hand on Pearls shoulder and with her other she wrote, ‘You need to get some sleep, eat, and take care of yourself.’

It looked like something inside Pearl broke and she slumped for a moment putting a hand on her forehead. “I can’t I need to check the inventory, check on the crew, and make sure that we get home,” Pearl said with a sob.

Peridot pulled her hand back. ‘You’re spreading yourself too thin and eventually you’ll break,’ she pointed out.

“I don’t care! Why don’t you just go and do your job?”

‘Because you obviously need someone to tell you that you need to stop.’

“No one can tell me to do anything! Not White Diamond, not Rose, not Amethyst, not Lapis, and certainly not YOU!” Pearl yelled. Peridot watched as Pearl finally crumbled putting her head down on her desk and began to cry.

She waited a few minutes for her to calm down and when Pearl stopped shaking Peridot went over to her and embraced her in a light hug. After a moment she felt Pearl cling to her and dampen her shirt with tears. Peridot had to stop herself from shaking when she felt the desperation, fear, and hopelessness that surrounded her.

While Pearl was holding onto her she was saying random words and phrases and started to quiver once more. Peridot tightened her grip every so often to try to tell Pearl that it was okay and that she was there for her. Eventually Pearl slumped into her and finally succumbed to the exhaustion. That’s when Peridot picked her up and was surprised to find that even though the woman is taller than bother herself and Lapis she weighed less than them. 

Peridot carried her to the crisp bed at the end of the room and placed her in it and covered her with the large square cloth.  _ Her space must be uncomfortable from it’s lack of clothes to support her head and keep her warm.  _ Pearl didn’t seem to mind however, because she curled up immediately mumbling incoherently to herself. Peridot stayed by her side for a moment and gently ran her fingers through Pearl’s hair to calm her completely before she moved around the room.

_ Humans sleep an average of eight hours at a time. I wish I knew what an hour was exactly.  _ So, Peridot decided to tidy up the room slightly while taking bites of the bird she caught earlier. When she got to Pearl’s desk she noticed that the book she was studying before was titled  The Beginners Guide to Reading Stars Vol 1. 

_ Neat.  _ Peridot read the book quickly and saw the book shelf on the left side of the room. She organised the books by author and made them look straighter. After some time she looked around the room and saw it was tidy enough to get rid of her cleaning itch and decided to pull out the bench that was under the wooden rectangle with the rose decorations.

She looked over to Pearl with a frown. She was concerned for her new Leader, but she was glad that she was sleeping silently.  _ This is going to be a huge sea cucumber. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone likes things from Peridot's perspective even if the chapter felt like a really dense cake to me. Like it says at the top this is only part one because this was getting so long it was making me nervous, so Peridot chapter next update as well.


	13. Humans are Weird Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot Communicating  
> Italics are Peridot's thoughts

Peridot sat on the bench and inspected the wooden box. The whole thing seemed to be coated in a layer of dust. Other than the two roses on either side in the middle was some sort of a drawer that she could slide open to see a little shelf. Peridot dusted it off and felt a portion of it lift when she got to the front side of it.

She tilted her head and lifted up the wooden part to reveal a bed of white and black. She lightly pushed down on the white and found that they were separate and made a delightful soft noise. She smiled to herself and pressed the white and black rectangles finding that each made a different noise at a different level of sound depending how hard she would press down.  

“Do you play?” Pearl asked from behind her.

Peridot quickly turned and saw a still tired looking Pearl, her body looked somewhat satisfied, but her eyes still drooped slightly. Peridot shook her head no and went to her pen and paper, ‘You should be sleeping.’

Pearl smiled slightly, “I would be, but the piano woke me up.”

‘I’m so sorry, I just found it and it is something new, I didn’t mean to wake you up,’ Peridot wrote frantically.

“It’s fine,” Pearl said waving a hand in dismissal. Then she walked over to her and sat on the bench to the right of Peridot leaving only a few inches to separated them. Pearl placed her hands on the white segmented rectangles and started a soft song on the right of the instrument. “Sometimes I forget this is even here. It was Rose’s and when she was here she would play it all the time. During celebrations she would have someone carry it out to the deck and sometimes at the end of the night she would play it just for me.”

‘You sound like you were close,’ Peridot wrote carefully.

Pearl only glanced at the paper and gave a small laugh, “Oh we were. If you’re around Lapis’ age then you probably don’t know much about the war or Rose or me, for that matter.” Pearl pressed on the keys a bit harder and continued with her soft song.

‘No, Lapis has talked about it before, but she never went into detail.’

“I’m sure she didn’t,” Pearl said. “That woman has a habit of abandoning things whether that is conversation or people,” Pearl mumbled. Soon Pearl pressed on more keys at an increased frequency and moved down the piano to make the song a bit lower. For a while the still slow song was the only communication between them.

‘If you want to talk about it, I want to know.”

Pearl smiled, “About fourteen years ago an amazing, beautiful, charismatic woman named Rose Quartz declared war against the four tyrant queens of Homeland. Even though she was part of the social elite she actually cared about the lives of the little people. She cared about the bread maker and his wife, about the hard workers at the dockyard, the little orphans on the street.” Pearl hesitated for a moment looking away from Peridot, “About the little slave that was always in the corner of the room.”

‘And your elite does not care?’ Peridot asked.

“I think they did at one point,” Pearl answered. “But, they’re really old. Older than you or I combined. When you get old you get paranoid that someone will come along and tear down everything that you worked so hard and so long to put up. It wasn’t right though, all of the beings they killed and all of the horrific experiments that they did to calm their fears.”

“One day I was serving White Diamond, one of the four leaders, and the next day I was by Rose’s side fighting for the rights of the oppressed middle and lower classes. At first we were brushed aside as something that could never pose a threat, but as we gained more followers especially of the magical kind the leaders began to get nervous.”

Pearl paused again, but Peridot wrote nothing so she continued, “I won’t bore you with the details about the war. How Rose and I made an army out of nothing and supported each other every step of the way or with battle strategies and such, you can read those in a book. Unlike those books, I can detail an integral part of the end of the war and what really happened.”

“It wasn’t some magical blast from the Diamonds or the ultimate super move played on Rose’s part it was the death of Pink Diamond. I was there at that battle. We captured her ship and Rose went inside her cabin to talk to her. Now, Rose took what she said exactly to the grave, but what I do know is that when the ship took heavy damage from our cannons, and Pink and most of her crew stayed on the ship until it sunk.”

 _From the bodies that I’ve ate and seen, I can attest to that._ The book and the pendent were in the back of her mind and Peridot was suddenly more aware of them in her satchel. ‘What happened after that?’

“As soon as the other tyrants found out they immediately tried to find a way to end us. One big final blow that would end the rebellion, and there was a magical blast, but it didn’t destroy us. Like I said many beings who joined us were not human and together we easily countered their attack. After that the Diamond quietly ended the war with peace and spread out propaganda that we were destroyed to make it look like they won.”

“We were fine with that though, because we could all finally live free. Rose established a colony on some new land and most of the old crew lives there now. It’s filled with a lot of magical creatures, some humans, and some new hybrids.” Pearl tensed and pushed down on the keys harder.

‘You don’t need to go on if you don’t want to.’

“No, no. Immediately after the war was over Rose decided to live on land and marry a man by the name of Gregory Universe, leaving me in charge of the ship. I’ve been captain ever since.” Pearl mumbled as she looked down. She ended her song at the left of the piano with a low note and a few stray tears.

‘Are you okay?’ Peridot asked.

“I don’t know,” Pearl said as her voice broke. “I-I depended on her for a long time and she left. She left like I was no more important than a broken tool and it still hurts”

‘Didn’t you say she lived on land? Where we’re going? You should tell her that.’

Pearl gave a weak laugh, “I suppose I could if I visited her in the cemetery.” Peridot looked at her with a confused face and a tilted head. “It is a place where we bury our dead. She died eleven years ago when she gave birth to her son.”

Peridot nodded. In her species it wasn’t often that a mother would die in childbirth, but it could happen. In those times the child, if she survived, would be taken and hopefully cared for by another lactating female. If there were none the child was left behind to perish. Usually it would suffocate or get eaten without the group to help and protect her.

Pearl turned to her and placed her left arm on the side of the stool and her right on the front of Peridot’s shoulder so her hand was half on the green fabric of her shirt and half on on her skin. One of her fingers went under her shirt pushing it aside slightly and she angled herself in an odd manner, so that her chest was somewhat forward and looked down to Peridot. “You know, if you weren’t so involved with Lapis, I would ask you if you wanted to come back to bed with me.”

Peridot blushed and backed up slightly when she heard Pearl say that. _What does that mean exactly? This...doesn’t feel right._ Pearl looked at her with giant light blue eyes that shone with hope, like she still wanted an answer to the question that she didn’t give. Pearl leaned in more and Peridot frantically wrote, ‘No thank you.’

Pearl read it and frowned, but backed away. “I guess I should have suspected it. I’m not sure how much Lapis told you about our past relationship, or even her own relationships. I just...long to feel wanted again. I’m sorry, but I’ve been in a relationship with Lapis and I don’t see why you would prefer her.”

Peridot frowned for a moment and decided to write out a long message to Pearl, ‘When I was with my family after a certain age I wasn’t allowed to be near my mother anymore or my Aunts or my cousins younger or older. They would try to leave me behind and get rid of me any chance they got. Sometimes they wouldn’t let me eat with them or even eat in general and when they finally succeeded in leaving me behind I was sad, but also glad. Sometimes you need to get away from the ones who hurt you.’

“I had no idea,” Pearl said after reading her message slowly, “You seem perfectly happy now.”

‘Frequently,’ Peridot continued, ‘I would avoid noises and things that reminded me of them, and in general dart away from anything that resembled a human. Then I met Lapis and she was charming, entertaining, and compassionate and she made me feel like I wasn’t an ugly monster. That I was fascinating. That I am something that is worth keeping around.’

Pearl looked at her for a moment with a somewhat heartbroken expression, “I see.”

‘But, I do know of someone who wants to be with you,’ Peridot wrote quickly.

Pearl looked up and raised a brow, “Oh?”

‘Amethyst.’

“Amethyst?! Is that some sort of joke? She is constantly trying to annoy me and never does any of her work.”

‘I believe she is just trying to get your attention. She is constantly looking at you with…’

“With?”

‘I can not describe. It is just odd. When I asked she blushed and tried to ignore me.’

“I suppose that is possible. I don’t know when she would have begun to like me like that. We did used to talk all the time though.” Pearl now had a small smile on her face, “Thank you for letting me talk. It’s not often I have an attentive listener. I think I’m going to go back to sleep for a little while longer. You are free to stay in here or just move around the ship.” Peridot watched Pearl go back to her bed and go back to sleep. She waited until she saw her breathing evened out to make she she was asleep before she left.

Over the next few days Peridot went through more and more jobs and she could see that Pearl was simultaneously in momentous distress and relieved by this. They got to spend more time together which made Pearl happy because she would have someone to talk to and make sure she was taking care of herself. But, at the same time the growing list of failures put her mildly on edge and ate up time because she always needed to come up with a new task for Peridot.

 _My most preferable job so far would have to be in the kitchen or with the others on deck._ One day Pearl looked so distraught and fed up she just looked at Peridot and said, “You know what? Just go down below and catch rats. I think they are starting to repopulate.”

Peridot looked confused for a moment. _Lapis told me I shouldn’t eat the rats, but Pearl told me I need to go and catch them. I suppose I’ll listen to Leader for the good of Lapis and I._ Peridot nodded and ran below deck after telling Pearl that she should come down to dinner tonight because she needs to eat every so often. Pearl was just about as thin as herself and it was concerning.

When she chased the rats below deck she ran into some of the crew members Jay, Chip, and Carnelian. They tried to coerce her into more fun with them, but this time Peridot was firm to hold her ground. Her job was to catch rats and she really didn’t want to be banned from working in this area as well as the top deck.

A few days ago Peridot was just on deck helping out the rest of the drew and just in general trying to be put to the best use. She was glad that she was on the top deck because she got to see Lapis every so often and a good portion of the crew that was above liked her. At one point Amethyst and Jay took her aside and decided to teach her how to sword fight.  

“Alright Peridot, you need to be in a fighting stance. Position your feet to be ninety degrees and hold the sword with one hand,” Jay instructed.

Peridot nodded. She did what Jay said and it earned her a thumbs up. _Without my powers this sword is a great weight._

“Good, now watch Amethyst and I as we fight.” Jay and Amethyst clashed their swords together slowly, using their back feet to balance them with the movement of the ship. “Now you try with Amethyst.”

Amethyst approached her and they both got into their respective stances. “Make sure you bend your knees, girl. Alright, before we go clashing swords I’ll teach you a few moves. You move the sword horizontally to block a direct strike or a lunge. You can also position it completely vertical side to side to block a side slash.” They practiced these motions for a few minutes and Peridot only got chided a few times to keep her sword up and to fix her stance.

“Amethyst why are you teaching Peridot how to sword fight?” Lapis said walking over. She looked like one of the mothers from her old group when she was disappointed in their young.

“How can you be mad at this, Lapis? We’re just teachin’ her how to defend herself,” Amethyst said with an eye roll.

“Unlike most of us, Peridot is a lady and doesn’t need to know how to sword fight. I’ll be able to protect her from anything that comes along,” Lapis said firmly.

“Pshhh. She isn’t technically a higher social rank than us, the just wears a dress instead of pants. Besides you won’t be there to protect her all the time, so might as well teach her,” Amethyst pointed out.

“Fine, just don’t break anything,” Lapis said. As she walked back to her position Peridot pulled her into a quick hug to which Lapis quickly reciprocated with a short smile.

“Alright, now you’re going to slowly spar with Amethyst with these new technique. I know that the sword is heavy, but you can only hold it with one hand. We’re not knights, which use a different type of sword.”

They spared for a little and then Peridot switched out with Jay so she could watch her and Amethyst go at it again. Every once and awhile another member of the crew would join in and show off more ways to swing the sword and just play around. When Peridot’s turn came up again it was clear that her skill improved greatly from the beginning of the day. She was no expert, but it seemed that she could hold her own against another novice.

“You’re doing great, Peridot!” Amethyst yelled in encouragement. Even Lapis stopped working to watch Peridot and gave her encouraging words every so often. Then the boat suddenly lurched causing everyone to loose their footing. Peridot fell with sword in hand and ended up accidentally cutting a rope. The rope snapped and a large sail immediately moved moved slightly.

Pearl came bounding out of her cabin frantically with her hair sticking in multiple directions and her clothes askew, “What happened?! Did someone knock into the steering wheel again?”

“Nah, it was just a big wave and Peridot snapped a rope with her sword no biggie,” Amethyst said. She then took in Pearl’s appearance and gave her a goofy smile, “You just woke up Pearl?”

“Yes I did and why would you ever teach Peridot to sword fight? All she has ever done is put holes and dents in the ship and you gave her a blade!” Pearl shouted.

Peridot wanted to go to Amethyst’s aid to defend her, but it looked like Amethyst was as confident as ever. “You sound like Lapis. I think it was a good idea to teach her how to defend herself. Besides I finished my work for today.”

“Amethyst, you still need to finish fixing the banister on the left side of the ship! Between you and Peridot it’s barely on. What if someone leans on it for support and falls off?”

“We live on water Pearl, most of us know how to swim. Why don’t you check on the ship’s position and get back to your cabin for your beauty sleep, not that you need it of course,” Amethyst said. Instead of the last part sounding teasing or sarcastic it actually sounded sincere which was supported by Amethyst’s shy looking face.

Pearl looked annoyed, but if one looked close at her it could be seen that she had a light blush. “Peridot go in my cabin. You are not allowed to have anymore jobs above deck unless accompanied by me. Amethyst, you help Lapis fix everything since this is your fault,” Pearl ordered. Everyone went off to do the tasks that they were given.

Later Peridot told Pearl that she was proud of her by accepting a compliment from Amethyst and showing minor reciprocation. Pearl was a little mad at her for going along with the crew’s shenanigans all the time, but Peridot felt different. _Learning to sword fight is a useful skill. It seems like the primary way of duel up here._

The trio took her anyway despite Peridot’s protests and picked her up and started spinning her around as they passed her from person to person. “Come on Peridot, you can’t tell me that wasn’t fun!” Carnelian yelled happily.

Peridot nodded and took out a small scrap of paper and tube filled with ink that she kept with her. ‘It was, but I need to get to work. This would be my third job change today if I don’t,’ Peridot wrote and showed the note to Jay.

Out of the crew Peridot quickly learned the ones who could understand her and the ones who couldn’t. So far they consisted of Jay, Skinny, Pearl, Sapphire, Chip (with effort), and Lapis. With people other than Pearl and Sapphire, Peridot noted that they were like Lapis, in that she needed to use smaller more common words to be understood. Once she asked why so few people could read on the ship and Pearl’s answer was about a place called school and another called an orphanage where apparently most of the crew had come from.

Peridot didn’t want to seem unintelligent so she just nodded her head in fake understanding.

Jay nodded and read her note out to the others who agreed with her. “If you need a break though, you know who to come to,” Chip said with a good natured smile.

Peridot smiled and waved them goodbye as they went back to doing their tasks. She absentmindedly caught three rats while lost in her thoughts. _Lapis informed me that her and Pearl had an intimate relationship, but how intimate? Do they have offspring? Does Lapis have any offspring? She hadn’t mentioned any. Why does she keep me uninformed about some topics?_ Through interacting with Pearl, Peridot realized that Lapis had a habit of bringing things up like the war or the woman named Jasper and not explaining them in depth or just abandoning the topic.

 _This is concerning, but Pearl made it sound like that was just the person that Lapis is. If Lapis does have a tendency to abandon things what can I do? Will she eventually leave me alone again?_ The thought really hit Peridot hard. From reasoning Peridot knew she had been alone for at least fourteen years since she explored the sunken remains of Pink Diamond’s ship when the bodies on board were still relatively fresh. _If that felt like a short time to me, then how long was I really down there?_

She really didn’t like all of the emotions that were stirring inside her with all of these thoughts. It was like when she let that octopus go when she was on food collector duty. She looked into it’s eyes and from its smell Peridot could tell that it was pregnant. In her cave she had a book that detailed animal lives and it said that octopus often lay their eggs and then they die immediately afterwards. The thought of killing it before it achieved that ultimate goal when it was so close to doing so really hit her hard. She felt something she never felt for any of her prey: pity.

Being around these humans made her feel more than she thought was even possible for her to feel. The amount of empathy that she felt or Lapis, Pearl, and most people on the ship was honestly astounding because they just gave off emotions in a way that her kind did not. _It is startling that I’m starting to get used to it._ Peridot noticed that she was sitting down on the ground and was leaning against the stair case. Under her hand was another rat that she apparently just caught. She was about to eat it when a thought hit her like a shark: _If Lapis left, could I go back to the darkness? Could I go back to being alone?_

Peridot shook her head. She was taught to live in the present and not think much of the future because the future may never come if she was distracted and she didn’t want to go back on that teaching now. Still, her thoughts unnerved her. She got up and went up the stairs. _Maybe Pearl does need to see me right now._

Peridot made her way up the stairs and saw Lapis talking to Pearl. _Curious. They’re not antagonizing each other like the usually are._ When Lapis started to look more annoyed is when Peridot made her way over to them and nuzzled Lapis while wrapping her in a light hug. She gave Pearl an enthusiastic greeting so she wouldn’t feel left out. Pearl gave her a small wave in response and Lapis asked her what she was doing lately.

Peridot was afraid for a moment, but answered her just as happily as before and Lapis didn’t even seem mad she was catching the rats! She actually seemed proud of her which made Peridot’s body radiate happiness and warmth. The warmth went away when Lapis asked her if she could navigate the ship.

She felt Lapis’ and Pearl’s eyes on her and suffocating her like atmospheres of pressure on top of her, like in the deep ocean. _Navigation? That’s a really important duty. Would that mean I would be pushing Pearl out of her position? Only a Leader gets to decide something like that._ Lapis reassured Peridot that she could do it if she really wanted to and made Peridot feel like she really could do it.

Pearl seemed to agree and welcomed her back into the cabin and Peridot followed her, but not before nuzzling Lapis again in thanks. When they got back into the cabin Pearl looked at her with a serious face, “Why didn’t you tell me you could read the stars? That would have been a great help.”

‘I didn’t know you would find that skill useful.’

“I would have,” Pearl sighed sitting at her chair. She then gestured to Peridot’s usual chair. “I...didn’t actually know how to read the stars when we left. That’s why I’ve been reading the astrology books. I can only hope that I’ve been on the proper course that I’ve set.”

‘Why didn’t you ask anyone else?’ Peridot asked.

Pearl rolled her eyes, “Most people on this ship can’t read english let alone the stars. Rose only ever taught me how to use a compass when she was training me and never the stars. That book was actually hers and I never thought I would need it with the new technologies coming out based on the metallic field of the Earth.”

For Peridot it was an odd situation. Everyone in her group by the age of thirty five started to memorize the stars and by sixty had a pretty good grasp on location based on where the group migrated. ‘I need your star books and an atlas so I can tell where on the globe we are in reference to these places.’

Pearl nodded and they got to work.

Over the next two weeks Peridot got in a routine for her, Lapis, and Pearl. She would spend most of her day (and night for that matter) with Pearl and any time in between she tried to get with Lapis. It was difficult considering during the day Lapis was working and it was best not to disturb her and Pearl wanted Peridot to sit next to her during meal times.

During the day Pearl would check around the ship, yell (flirt) with Amethyst, and sleep in her cabin. One day Pearl expressed to her that she felt bad that she kept the ship on the wrong course so that they would arrive on land later than scheduled. After she said this Peridot felt the ship and realized that many of the components of the ship were metal ad she was actually able to move the ship at a faster pace. As Pearl expressed her sorrow and longing to see a child named Steven, (who Peridot assumed was hers) only caused Peridot to try to move the ship faster.

Unfortunately, that made her extremely tired because she was moving the ship for hours at a time during the day. Combined with the fact that she wasn’t sleeping well because she wasn’t really snuggling Lapis at night and she needed to get up every other hour to check the stars. To be honest it was starting to get exhausting.

There were a few extra perks with spending her time with Pearl one being that Pearl would answer all her questions if she had any. She learned a few things when she was with Pearl including how to tell time, how to play the piano, and that Pearl was an excellent singer.  

Pearl smiled, “And that’s how you read a clock.”

Peridot nodded happily and looked to the grandmother clock that was in Pearl’s office. _I now know what an hour is exactly. Interesting how humans classify time with segments on a machine and with the sun’s position. The sun would be enough for me, but these humans are so complicated in everything they do._ ‘It is 12:38 pm right now,’ Peridot wrote.

“Correct! I can’t believe you were able to self teach yourself how to read, but not use a clock.”

‘I had no clocks to use,’ Peridot pointed out.

“I guess that’s true. Well I’m going to take a nap before dinner you are free to roam,” Pearl said with a wave turning to her bed.

Peridot grabbed her arm, ‘Play piano?’ was written on her paper.

“I’ll play it for you later tonight so we can stay up,” Pearl said.

Peridot shook her head and looked at Pearl with a pleading face, ‘Just a little bit.’

“Fine, one song and then we should both get some rest, you’ve been looking more tired lately.”

Peridot nodded and sat down at the bench and soon Pearl joined her and began to press on the keys. Peridot watched her intently trying to memorize her motions and occasionally copied them, and she stopped when Pearl started to sing in a low murmur.

“-and justice will prevail,” she finished her song with a low hum, “That was fun. It’s been awhile since I’ve sang. I think I’m a little rusty.” Pearl had a small smile and a distant look on her face.

‘I thought that was enchanting,’ Peridot wrote.

“Why thank you, Peridot. Now it is time for us to go to sleep.”

Peridot grabbed her wrist lightly, ‘One more?’

“No Peridot,” Pearl said firmly. But Peridot looked at her with such a sad and disappointed face which made her reconsider, “Since I assume that you just like to watch me press the keys how about I do this.” She then opened up the middle compartment of the piano to reveal that it is slightly hollow. It took a couple minutes for the scroll to start to turn and- _OH MY!_ Peridot jumped when the piano started to play on its own.

Her eyes were wide and she watched as multiple keys moved up and down without the aid of fingers and she looked at Pearl with an amazed face. _Perhaps she is a mermaid or some sort of magical creature. She could have the power to allure and enchant._ ‘How is this happening?’ Peridot wrote quickly when she realized that Pearl was just staring at her and trying her best not to laugh.

Pearl let a small giggle escape her mouth, “The scroll tells the piano what keys to press down with the notches in the scroll. It’s kind of like a giant music box.”

Peridot nodded and then started to stare at the scroll as it went through the song and when it ended Pearl showed her how to reroll it and change scrolls so she could do it on her own. “That’s pretty much it, now it will play these songs for you.” Then Pearl went to the book shelf and brought back a thin paper cover book. “This is called sheet music and this is what people use to be able to play the piano. Music language is different from english, so you won’t be able to read it exactly, but it does have the words to the song if you want to follow that.”

Peridot eagerly grabbed the book and started to flip to the page that read The Ballad of Saint Rose at the top, which was the jovial song playing at the moment. She started to study the song, words, noise, and the keys that were playing. Somewhere in the background she heard Pearl tell her to have fun, but she decided to not answer and continue her observations.

She spent hours observing the songs and the book. _It’s almost like when Lapis was teaching me how to speak. So exciting!_ Needless to say, but the boat didn’t move as fast as it had the previous day.

“Are you still playing with the piano?” Pearl asked. She just got up from her sleep and was stretching out on her bed.

 _It is 6:39 pm according to the clock which means that dinner will be in 64 minutes. Wait. No, 21 minutes. There are 60 in an hour._ She made great progress in figuring out how to make music on her own and was on her way to being able to read music. ‘I suppose it is time for me to take a break,’ Peridot wrote.

“Good let’s get everything set up for tonight and then we can head down for dinner.”

Even though Pearl was talking to her the whole time and they were busy setting up the star charts for the night, her eyes constantly lingered on the piano. They went downstairs like they usually did and Pearl sat at the head of all the tables in the biggest chair and Peridot sat in her new spot on her left.

Sapphire and Ruby brought out the food for everyone and the crew ran down to eat using their hands and scarfing down their meals. Peridot looked at her own plate with mild disgust. _I need to eat this now. I already finished the rations from the cave._ She ate some of the cooked fish and cornmeal slowly and finished about half her plate. She shoved it over to Amethyst who took it happily and ate the rest of it.

Peridot looked over to near the end of the table and saw Lapis talking with Lavender, and Lavender looking at her with a sultry look (sultry was a word she learned from Amethyst). She was glad that she couldn’t make noise because Peridot was sure that she would have let out a string of very audible grunts at Lavender.

 _Perchance Pearl is correct and Lapis has decided to grow close with Lavender._ Peridot frowned at the thought. Thankfully, Pearl stole her attention and told her that they should go outside and check the position of the ship.

After a quarter of an hour they found that their position was on course and they decided to go back into Pearl’s cabin. “You know, it’s rude to stare angrily at people,” Pearl lightly teased.

‘Lavender just makes me so uncomfortable,’ Peridot wrote.

“You’re just jealous. What I’ve heard from Amethyst, you shouldn’t worry about Lapis having feelings for her. She says that she is either humoring her or is oblivious to Lavender’s advances,” Pearl said to try to calm Peridot down.

‘Why doesn’t Amethyst sit next to you at dinner?’ Peridot asked changing the subject.  

“It’s fine if Amethyst and I talk throughout the day, but to sit next to each other and talk during dinner is scandalous.”

Peridot looked at her with a board expression, ‘Are you serious?’

“Of course!”

‘Okay,’ Peridot wrote with an eye roll. ‘What about talking to her at the party downstairs?’

“Of course not, that would be more of a social gathering instead of a workplace interaction. And don’t remind me of those parties, it’s a wartime tradition that I’ve never been able to get rid of.”

‘Why would it be a tradition?’

“During times of perceived peace and downtime Rose would let the crew party all night and have a good time because they could die at anytime.”

‘Did you party with everyone else during the war?’

“Sometimes. But I am much too old for that now.”

‘You’re not too much older than Lapis,’ Peridot pointed out.

“Your point?” Pearl asked with a raised brow.

‘You could probably be down there and having fun with the rest of the crew. These people don’t seem like they care much for status. You should stay down there tomorrow!’

“No, no. We need to make sure we stay on course.”

‘We’ll be fine for one night and with our current position it looks like we’ll be there in four days, two ahead of schedule.’

Pearl looked like she was seriously considering going down to the party.

‘Why not? I’ve never seen you let go like the rest of the crew. Go down, dance a bit, sing, and talk to Amethyst.’

“I guess you’re right,” Pearl said slowly over a moment. They played a few songs on the piano for a little bit and during this time Peridot decided that she would start to move the ship faster to keep up with the prediction. After a few hours Pearl noticed that Peridot was starting to nod off. “How about we go check the position again?”

They went outside and Peridot nodded Lapis made their bed and was currently waiting for her to join. Pearl must have noticed Lapis, and Peridot’s longing look at the bed because when they checked the course again, Pearl told her to meet her back here in an hour. As Peridot was about to walk away Pearl whispered to her, “Or you could just take the night off.”

Peridot gave her a tired smile and went over to Lapis to join her and collapsed on their bed of clothes. Peridot made sure to stay a little bit away from Lapis because she seemed to always be shrinking away from her touch and she was getting friendly with Lavender.

“No, I like it it when we sleep together like that,” Lapis admitted. “But, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she quickly added.

It was the thing that Peridot wanted to hear and she smiled. ‘No, I like it,’ Peridot mouthed with closed eyes. So, Peridot decided to snuggle into Lapis’ warmth and succumbed to the sleep that wanted to take her. She felt a different type of happy warmth spread through her when Lapis clutched her.

“I like the way you feel, too.” Lapis said.

_I am very glad that I have bonded with Lapis so greatly._

The next day Peridot and Pearl went back into her cabin, so Pearl could sleep and Peridot could mess around with the piano and make the ship move faster. When dinner was over Pearl got up to follow Peridot upstairs and Peridot turned to her, ‘I’ll go check the position of the ship, you stay down here.’

“But you may need me,” Pearl countered.

‘I’ll be fine. I’ll be back down here in a few hours to get Lapis and to check on you. Relax and have fun!’ Peridot wrote. She then pushed Pearl so she knocked into Sharky who at first looked angry and then look at Pearl with a surprised expression.

“Look who it is! You finally going to party with us tonight?” Sharky yelled drawing the attention of some of the other crew.

“Well maybe. I’m not sure if I’m-AH!”

Sharky picked her up, “CAPTAIN PARTY!” Many people cheered and turned up the music on the phonograph and started to pass around the drinks. Peridot smiled as she watched the party pick up and made her way up the stairs.

She tended to her duties, read the stars, adjusted the course slightly, and every once and awhile practiced the piano. _Maybe one day I’ll be the one to play the music during a party so everyone can have fun above deck._ She smiled at the thought and then looked at the clock. _Ah, it’s three I should go get Lapis and check on Pearl._

Peridot drank some water to try to calm her headache and slowly made her way downstairs. _I should heed my own advice and take more breaks. I’m not sure how much more I could use my power without exhaustion._ Peridot had been using her powers so much that she was sure that her ability has been expanding with all the practice. She could move the ship for longer periods of time than she could when she first started.

 _I slowly grow in power, but in power I do grow._ She finally made it down the stairs and saw that the party was starting to die down. Some people were slumped down walls, others were together in darker places, and there were some people still partying in the corners. That’s where Peridot spotted Pearl, who was accompanied by Amethyst, Jay, Sharky, and a few of the other crew members that Peridot didn’t regularly interact with.

Pearl was flushed and had an arm around Amethyst and was swaying with her as everyone was singing to the song on the phonograph. The only other people who were moving was a couple of pairs of people where were dancing together to the music. Peridot looked around and tried to spot Lapis and she didn’t see her the first time. And then she watched as someone spun and…

Lavender had Lapis in her arms and they looked like they were having a good time.

Lavender’s large hands were on Lapis’ waist and drew Lapis in closer.

Peridot made her way near them and observed Lavender putting her lips on Lapis’ neck and biting her.

Peridot froze when she saw that. _She just claimed Lapis. And it seems like…_

Lapis tried to pull away.

_Lapis does not reciprocate._

“Lavender what are you doing?” Lapis asked with a hurt tone. She got out of Lavender’s hold and stepped back slightly.

“Come on Lapis, you’ve been doing this to me for weeks.” Then Lavender reached out and put a hand on Lapis’ shoulder grabbing her and keeping her still. “I've heard the stories of when you were on the ship before. You slept with everyone you could get your hands onto. Can’t we have a little fun?” Lavender finished with a purr.

Peridot quickly made her way to Lapis and tried to get in between them.

“Oh no, you are not going to get in between us today, pipsqueak,” Lavender growled. She tried to pull Lapis towards her again with her huge hands and-

**SLAP.**

Lavender pulled her burning hand away from Lapis quickly and looked even angrier than before. Lapis even looked surprised at her behavior. “Peridot why did you do that?” Lapis asked.

She was ignored and Peridot pushed her over towards the group who was still singing in the corner oblivious to the interaction. “You bitch!” Lavender yelled.

 _I can’t hide. I can’t run. But, now that I’m protecting her I wouldn’t do either, even if they were options._ Peridot willed her metal feet to look sharper and more animal like than before and she hunched her back and let out a loud hiss. The yell and the hiss caused some of the singers to turn their attention to the fight that was about to break out. _She may be three times my size and have more experience fighting, but that doesn’t matter right now._

Lavender began to make her way to her and Peridot willed herself to shift to her natural form slightly.  _If she wants to fight over Lapis, then let her be my rival and let us battle it out._ Peridot gave another loud hiss as Lavender picked up speed and approached her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, finally another major plot event! This was another fun one to write from Peri's perspective, and I'm glad I split up the chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' Is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis awoke from her lovely night with Peridot when she felt her stirring in her arms, but she decided to keep her eyes closed. Peridot usually got up at the crack of dawn and Lapis wanted to get a few more hours of sleep and rest until she had to start her laborious day. She had to force herself to keep her eyes closed as she felt Peridot hover over her and nuzzle her forehead like any normal greeting or show of affection.

What was different was the light pressure of soft lips that she felt on her forehead after the nuzzle that made Lapis want to wrap her arms around Peridot and give her a kiss on the lips (among other things). She stopped herself however, and only rose when she heard Peridot go into Pearl’s cabin. She then lifted herself up by her arms and took a deep breath and felt her cheeks heat up.

“Wow, for you to blush so much over that, you must have not gotten any in awhile.”

Lapis turned her attention to Amethyst who was leaning on a box that was on the opposite side of the deck from Pearl’s door. “Shut it, Amethyst. What are you even doing up here so early?” Lapis said trying to sound unaffected by her comment.

This time Amethyst looked embarrassed and slightly shifted, “With Peridot preoccupied with you all night I stayed up to make sure Pearl was alright.”

“Oh so you talked to her without her yelling at you about work for once? Good job,” Lapis said as she got up. She stretched out her body and packed up her clothes and Peridot’s bag that the other woman left behind. After packing everything up Lapis noticed that Amethyst didn’t continue the conversation. _Now that’s unusual. Usually she’s always up for a conversation._ She looked up and saw Amethyst just leaning on the box and trying to do her best to look away from Pearl’s door. “Anything you want to say?”

“We’ll we didn’t really talk per se. I just...looked on at her from afar.” Now Amethyst was trying to look away from Pearl’s door and Lapis.

Lapis raised her brow. “What do you mean by that? Do you just look at her from the small window on her door or something?”

Amethyst didn’t answer. Lapis broke out into a laugh which caused Amethyst to blush madly and angrily look at her, “Hey! I don’t laugh at you when you talk to me about your problems or the things that you do with Peridot!”

Lapis stopped laughing almost immediately. _Fuck she’s right. You’re being a terrible friend._ “Um. Sorry I just found it a little funny that you spent all night watching Pearl from her door window which you probably had trouble reaching it,” Lapis finished with a smile.

“And you haven’t fucked the girl who you are obviously in love with,” Amethyst said in a hurt voice.

“Neither have you,” Lapis pointed out. _Oh shit, may have went too far with this._ Amethyst was looking down on the ground and looked really hurt by Lapis’ comments and started making her way to the door so she could go below deck. “Wait Amethyst, I’m sorry those were mean things to say-”

“Ya, it was. You know it’s not fair that I listen to you all day about your problems about romance and you just make fun of me for mine,” Amethyst accused with crossed arms.

“Alright, well when I first brought it up you really didn’t want to talk about it, so I thought that still applied here. And I was making fun of the fact that to be close to your crush you either need to screw up or stalk her.”

“Sorry that not everyone can be in the arms of one woman for most of the night and then fall asleep with another the same night,” Amethyst said with an eye roll.

This time Lapis gave her a questioning look, “The hell do you mean by that? Peridot doesn’t come down and party with us at night.”

Amethyst snorted, “What you don’t remember Lavender being all over you at night?”

“Ame, I get completely shit faced almost every night. All I usually remember in the morning is when I start to drink and then the warmth of Peridot’s body when she comes to bed.”

“I guess that explains why Lavender is always so upset in the morning when you pretty much blow her off. So, you don’t have any feelings for her?” Amethyst asked.

“What? No, dude. I didn’t even realize that she was...I guess that explains some of those dinner conversations,” Lapis said flashing back to the multiple flirty conversations that Lavender had with her.

“If you and Peridot aren’t a thing then why not go for her?” By now they moved their conversation to the front of the ship which was their usual spot to talk and just chill out. They sat so that they were between the holes of the banister and their legs were handing off the ship. The sunrise was directly behind them and it was slowly lighting the dark blue water so that it became a nicer calm soft blue.

“Look, it’s complicated with Peridot.”

“Lapis, it’s complicated with me and Pearl. Like I said you two are completely in love and the only thing keeping you two apart is you,” Amethyst said. This time when she was talking about their relationship it was with helpful logic and not anger or hurt.

For a moment Lapis didn’t answer and she just continued to look into the sparkling pool below them. _There is a lot of complications with me and Peridot. She’s too good for me, she will outlive me by hundreds of years, she wants children. And you know the fact we are different species._ Instead of focusing on that though Lapis decided to ask something else, “What do you think is really holding you and Pearl back?”

Amethyst seemed surprised at her question. “Like I said before we are so far apart in age and she is just so great compared to me.”

Lapis thought for a moment, “Don’t tell anyone, but Peridot and I are more apart in age then you think and for what it’s worth I think you’re pretty great.”

Amethyst chuckled and looked at her with a smile though her eyes still looked tired and sad. “Thanks, but I really need Pearl to think that I’m great. And how old is Peridot anyway?”

“I don’t know how old Peridot is exactly, but I know she is at least older than Pearl,” Lapis said trying to dodge answering the question completely. “Honestly, I think that Pearl already thinks you’re a good person and she likes you. She wouldn’t put up with you if she didn’t.”

“But how am I supposed to live up to her,” Amethyst said and then much quieter added, “up to Rose?”

Lapis took a deep breath. _Alright here we go. Time to bring up some things._ “I’m not sure how much you really know about Rose. Hell, you probably got most of your info from Pearl, but here’s the thing with her that a lot of people like to forget: she was human.”

Amethyst looked at her strangely, “I don’t get it.”

“As the war progressed Rose gained a lot of attention for being very kind almost to a fault. A lot of people started to question if she was even human or if she was something else. At the end of the war a lot of people thought she was actually an angel sent from god to save everyone from the queens. It was part of that reasoning was why so many people were so distraught when she died, in childbirth no less.

“Dude get to the point.”

“Be patient, I’m trying to make you see something, and what I’m getting at is that she was a human like you or me or Pearl. That being said she wasn’t perfect, for every couple of good and wholesome things that she did, she also did some pretty horrific things as well. No one escaped the war without blood on their hands not me, not Pearl, and definitely not Rose. For not being in the war you’re already somewhat better than all of us,” Lapis finished her own eyes growing distant and hazy while she looked out to the horizon.

“What did they do that was so horrific? No one in Rose’s command were allowed to kill anyone. All they took were prisoners,” Amethyst said.

Lapis hesitated, “It’s not really my place to tell you what Pearl did specifically, but you know Rose ultimately caused the death of Pink Diamond and her crew. Also, do you ever wonder why the orphanages are so full? The war started politically before a single shot was fired from a Homeland gun and they only preferred not to kill people and soldiers don’t just die in battle.  Plus, there was indigenous people who lived in New Colony before you guys. The hell do you think happened to most of those guys if they didn’t assimilate?”

“That...sounds like a lot of things she was indirectly responsible for.”

“And what she did to Pearl? She was supposed to be the master of emotions and empathy and she didn’t realize that Pearl was in love with her? And if she did, she never bothered to tell Pearl that she didn’t reciprocate? And for what? So she could get a very loyal soldier?” Lapis said with slight anger.

“Why do you care? You left Pearl too,” Amethyst pointed out.

“I didn’t realize she was so attached to me. It’s one thing to mess with someone’s body or personal items, but it's another to knowingly mess with their heart. It’s just a really shitty thing to do to someone.”

They just sat and looked at the water for a while and they heard a light piano waltz being played somewhere near them. “You know you really changed. You’re totally less of a shitty person now, Lapis.”

Lapis took a deep breath, “Thanks. I guess spending time with Peridot and away from my usual life did that to me. That being said think I gotta deal with Lavender soon before I pull a Rose Quartz and revert back to my usual position of shit stain. And you should try to talk to Pearl again. Not about work though.”

Amethyst stood up and brushed herself off, “Yeah right, it’s not like she comes down stairs and parties with us at night. Come on let’s start checking the ropes.” She stretched out her hand to Lapis to help her get up and Lapis smiled and took it.   


“CAPTAIN PARTY!” Sharky yelled loudly. She picked up a blushing Pearl and passed her around to the other party goers.

“Damn Amethyst!” Lapis yelled slapping her friend on her back. “Not even two days later and you get the perfect opportunity.” She tried to smile and encourage her friend who looked nervous and ready to vomit all over the floor.

“Lapis, I don’t think I can do this,” Amethyst said looking more nervous by the second.

Lapis pulled Amethyst close so her full attention was on her, “This. Is. Your. Chance. A wise woman once told me that that the only thing holding me back from my happiness was myself and I repeat that wisdom to you.” Lapis pulled away and ruffled her hair. Then she grabbed two drinks from the table and handed them to Amethyst. “Here, one for you one for her, go get her, puma!”

At this point the others finally let Pearl down and started laughing and dancing to the music. Lapis watched Amethyst carefully, and saw her approach Pearl and give her one of the drinks. _I might as well be her wingman for the night._ Pearl looked down at the drink in her hands with a slight frown. “You’re not going to drink, Pearl?” Amethyst asked. At this point the music and people were so loud that Lapis had to rely on her lip reading ability to understand them.

Pearl jumped slightly and apologized, “Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts. Thank you for the drink, Amethyst.”

“Yeah-um, no problem,” Amethyst said laughing slightly and putting her hand behind her head.

 _Hmm she seems like she’s gonna need help tonight. I’ll try my best to stay out of the way though, pretty sure Pearl really doesn't want to see me._ Lapis was about to make her way to their general area when a large hand held her shoulder.

Lapis turned to see it was Lavender who stopped her. “Hey, Lapis. Nice to see ya down here again.” She had a drink in her hand and gave Lapis a wide smile that showed off her surprisingly straight, white, sharp teeth. She then picked up another drink and tried to give it to Lapis.

“No thanks. I’m not really going to drink tonight. I’m gonna watch Pearl and Amethyst,” Lapis said pushing the drink away. _Can’t get distracted._

Lavender pushed the drink back towards her, “If you’re going to watch Amethyst then you’ll need this. With how she’s been dancing around telling Pearl about her feelings for over two years.”

Lapis looked at her with surprise, “You knew that-”

“Yeah man, of course. She’s been looking at Pearl with lovey dovey eyes for that long and has refrained from having a lot of fun because of it,” Lavender said with an eye roll. “If you ask me, I don’t think it will work out because Pearl is such an uptight lady bitch and Amethyst is a fun loving swashbuckler of woman.”

“Did you ever tell her that?” Lapis asked. _That would be really shitty and really not good for Amethyst’s confidence._

“Naw, the rest of the fam agreed to pretend that we didn’t notice unless she asked for help, and I had to go along with the will of the group. A lot of people said she should go for it, but I think I would want to save her from being burned that hard,” Lavender said. She then shrugged and took a long drink from her mug and gestured to Lapis’ that was sitting in front of her.

 _I guess some won’t hurt. I’ll still be able to lookout for Amethyst._ Lapis downed her beverage and was immediately presented with another one and then another after that. By her fourth she was drinking it slowly so she didn’t overdo it. Most of her night was spent talking and laughing with Lavender and occasionally looking over to Amethyst and Pearl to make sure they were doing well.

The two got along pretty well together and it seemed after a drink or two Amethyst was more bold and Pearl was more willing to have fun. Lapis had to admit that she was having a lot of fun with Lavender when she wasn’t trying to move closer her and get her more drunk. It was like that for hours and Lapis ended up drinking another two glasses and decided to stop because everything was starting to get fuzzy.

Crew members started piling up on the floor and others were moving off for a bit of fun and Amethyst and Pearl started singing to  Peace and Love on Planet Earth . Other crew members were with them and swaying in the corner.

 _When did I start dancing?_ Her and Lavender were dancing to the song and the singing in the corner and more people were down on the ground and there was only a small space for dancing. There were a couple of other couples dancing. _Wait couples. This...this is wrong. I need to tell her to back off. I need to tell her this isn’t right._

Lapis’ head was fuzzy, but she looked up to Lavender’s own cloudy eyes. “Lavender, I don’t want to dance anymore. I think I’m going to go to sleep.”

Lavender looked hurt and her face flashed with mild anger, but she covered it up quickly. “Come on Lapis, aren’t you having fun?” Lavender asked and spun her around.

Lapis laughed, “Well ya, but-”

The hands that were on Lapis’ waist pulled her closer to Lavender and Lapis felt sharp teeth prick her neck. Immediately a shiver went down Lapis’ spine, but not a pleasant one because it lead to past memories of being slammed against walls and rough crying nights. Lapis tried to pull away, “Lavender what are you doing?” she asked with a high pitched hurt tone. She got out of Lavender’s hold and stepped back slightly.

“Come on Lapis, you’ve been doing this to me for weeks.” Then Lavender reached out and put a hand on Lapis’ shoulder grabbing her and keeping her still. “I’ve heard the stories of when you were on the ship before. You slept with everyone you could get your hands onto. Can’t we have a little fun?” Lavender finished with a purr.

Lapis felt colder than she had in quite some time. _Alright think Lapis. There are people here, so it’s not like she can just take you away, even if you’re trapped right now and can’t escape._ Suddenly out of nowhere Peridot was moving her way between them. _What? When did she-_

“Oh no, you are not going to get in between us today, pipsqueak,” Lavender growled. She tried to pull Lapis towards her again with her huge hands and-

**SLAP.**

Lavender pulled her burning hand away from Lapis quickly and looked even angrier than before. Lapis looked at Peridot with shock, “Peridot why did you do that?” _She’s never been violent towards another person before._

Peridot ignored her and pushed her to the group that was singing without care in the corner. “You bitch!” Lavender yelled.

Lapis could only watch as Peridot shifted slightly, and luckily to the untrained eye of the dimly lit space she didn’t look much different. Her nails were like daggers, her teeth became thin and sharp, and her skin took on a greenish grey tint. When she hissed it was almost as her jaw unhinged making her mouth look twice as big as a normal humans. Lavender was either too drunk to take notice, or just didn’t care.

“What was that noise?” Pearl asked from behind her.

“Ah, looks like Peridot and Lavender are finally going at it. Peridot seems to have gotten into a fighting position,” Jay pointed out. Lapis went to go to Peridot when Jay grabbed her arm, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I need to stop Peridot from fighting her. She’s going to hurt Lavender!” Lapis said struggling from the grip.

Amethyst raised her brow, “Shouldn’t you be more concerned for Peridot. Girl can barely do any heavy lifting. Besides it’s just a little fight between crewmates no big deal. Just sit and enjoy two beautiful woman fight over you.”

“Pearl, you can’t approve of this!” Pearl didn’t even look at her and kept her eyes on the fight as this point Lavender was starting to move towards Peridot, and Peridot let out another loud hiss. “I need to go stop her let me go!” Lapis yelled struggling to break the hold of the many hands keeping her back.

“No way,” Jay started, “You are too drunk and you would just end up getting hurt or get one of them more hurt.”

So they all just sat and watched as Lavender went in for a punch which Peridot dogged. Peridot them swiped at her right side in what looked like a slap. “Did she just slap her instead of punch her?” Amethyst asked with a snicker. When they heard Lavender cry out in pain Amethyst stopped laughing and everyone saw Peridot’s long nails that were dripping with blood.

No one had time to question that because Lavender picked Peridot up and attempted to throw her across the room and presumably against the wall. It would have worked if not for Peridot’s weight because instead she made it to the ground and landed on all fours. When she was skidding to a stop she left deep grooves in the floor planks from her nails and metal feet which were now visible and no longer looked human.

Now the changes in her thin form were starting to become more noticeable and more people were waking up from their sleep to watch the fight. Her skin became a more apparent green grey and her hair started to become the dread like and clear. _Oh no._ Lapis could feel the shift of emotions around her from amusement to fear at Peridot’s form.

Peridot began to run on all fours to Lavender and jumped high up in the air to attack Lavender from above. Lavender prepared for her by getting ready to grab Peridot and slam her down, but a few feet before Peridot made it to her, it seemed like gravity brought her down to the floor suddenly with a loud crack on the floor boards. Then she rammed herself into Lavender’s exposed stomach causing her to fall over into a mess of chairs and broken glasses and Peridot landed on top of her.

When Lavender landed with a loud thud and tried to grab Peridot’s hair, but instead let out a loud shriek as electricity flowed through her from Peridot’s glowing rainbow hair. At this point Peridot was almost completely transformed, her big white eyes were visible, her nose sunk into her face, her ears turned into fanned fins, and her legs were fused together making her feet fall off.

She had Lavender pinned and raised her hand up and brought it down quickly leaving five deep gashes across the left side of Lavender’s face, just missing her eye and going down to her nose and lips. Then Peridot brought her face close to hers and gave the loudest hiss yet before she was forcibly pulled off of Lavender.

Some of the crew grabbed Peridot, a few of them got shocked by her tentacles and others lost their grip on her because of her slippery skin. They let her go at the middle of the floor and many people had their knives and guns out now pointing them at Peridot. “No! No! Don’t hurt her!” Lapis shouted going out to where Peridot was and shielding her with her own body.

“We need to kill it!”

“It will eat us all!”  

“Look what it did to Lavender!”

“Look at it, it’s disgusting!”

“How can you defend a monster!?”

“Get out of the way or we’ll kill you too!”

People were yelling at them from all from all directions and Peridot was in the middle of changing back to her human form. From the back Lavender seemed to have gotten up and made her way to the group, blood streaming down her face. “If anyone gets to kill that thing it’s me!” she shouted. Lavender pulled out her pistol and aimed it at Peridot’s head.

Then Pearl came over from her corner with Amethyst and Jay behind her and put her hand on Lavender’s arm and suddenly everyone was quieter. “You will do no such thing. You are a contracted crew member of the Crystal Gem, you’re not allowed to kill.”

“I’m not allowed to kill people,” Lavender said gruffly not lowering her gun.

Pearl frowned and raised her brow, “By killing her you would not only be disobeying me, your captain, but the word and will of Rose Quartz.” Now the air around them was ridged and everyone held their breath for Lavender’s response. It was one thing to go against Pearl, it was another thing to go against everyone's hero and angel, Rose Quartz.

Lavender decided to back down. “Then what do you suppose we do with her, Captain?” Lavender spat.

Pearl frowned at her tone, “You, Lapis, Amethyst, Sapphire, and Garnet are going to come with me up to my cabin so we can discuss some things. Jay and Chip will guard Peridot who will be put in one of the old prison cells.”

Lapis wanted to protest, but decided that she should just be grateful that Pearl didn’t decide to kill Peridot in front of the crowd. Everyone nodded and Lapis gave Peridot a quick hug before they were separated and she started upstairs.   

The piano bench was pulled out so it was now in front of Pearl’s desk. Lapis took the chair, Lavender sat on the bench, Amethyst guarded the door, and Garnet and Sapphire took their place on either side of Pearl. Everyone in the room was a combination of tired, drunk, and on edge. They sat in silence for a moment with only the chime of the grandmother clock in the corner to indicate it was half past three.

Pearl took a deep breath, “So, what happened here tonight? Lapis would you like to fill us in?”

Lapis felt everyone’s eyes and judgment on her, “Peridot...is a mermaid. But before you jump and ask questions, most of what I told you was true, Pearl. She doesn't have a family and she lost her feet in a shark attack.”

“Yeah, right. All of those hell spawns have family. They’ve probably been trailing us since we pick you two up,” Lavender said.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Lavender,” Pearl said sharply. Then she turned her attention back to Lapis, “Are you sure she doesn’t have a family?”

Lapis swallowed, “She told me when she was almost 170 that the new leader of her group kicked her out because she was the last offspring from the previous leader and she was not sexually mature. Their family systems work a lot like lion’s.”

Pearl’s eyes flashed with some sort of recognition and nodded, “Do you know if she’s killed and eaten any humans?”

“She said she had never really seen a human before me,” Lapis said. She deliberately left out the part that Peridot was a scavenger on the ocean floor and had probably eaten a few corpses in her time.

“Why did she attack Lavender today?” Pearl asked.

“Because she’s a literal fucking sea monster,” Lavender grumbled.

Pearl and Lapis gave the woman a sharp look. “She probably thought that Lavender marked me,” Lapis said referring to the bruise on her neck. When Pearl gave her a questioning look she continued, “To her it means that Lavender marked me as her mate and she would impregnate me by spring.”

“What? That doesn't make any sense. You’re both girls,” Amethyst said from behind her.

“Her species changes genders when it’s needed and they don't distinguish by male and female. They just call everyone she. Peridot told me a story about it once.”

“What other stories has she told you?” Pearl asked.

“Not much actually. She spent a lot of time teaching me how to read and write and in return I taught her how to talk.”

“Any idea why she can’t talk?” Amethyst asked.

“She said she used to look like the typical beautiful mermaid, but after a long time she adapted to living down where there was no sunlight. I’m pretty sure that I was the first person she saw since her family abandoned her, so I guess she adapted to living without a voice.”

“Alright, I’ve sat quietly long enough!” Lavender said banging her fists on Pearl’s desk. “Why are we discussing all of this when a monster is right below us?! We all know that mermaids are nothing but trouble.”

Pearl looked at her with boredom, she was used to big brutes like her. “Because, we must know both sides of the story.”

“Why? She is nothing more than an animal that needs to be put down. If she were a dog she would have been shot in the head by now for attacking me!” Lavender yelled.

“Did you just compare her to a dog?!” Lapis yelled. She stood up and looked straight at Lavender, “Look, I know you’re angry, but you can’t just say things like that. She’s just like you and me.”

“But, she’s not human either! Her species aren’t even on the recognized intelligent species list!” Lavender countered.

“You’re joking right? She’s smarter than half the people on the ship! She can read, write, read the stars, and has a vast bank of knowledge.”

“Really? The girl didn’t know that she should cook food or how to use a hammer. Just being with her would be considered beastiality because she’s a fish,” Lavender finished.

“She may not be human, but isn’t a beast. She has thoughts. She has feelings. She has a mind. Pearl, you’ve been working with her nonstop for the last two weeks, you know this,” Lapis said.

Now all eyes were on Pearl once again, “I believe that Lapis is right in this situation. Even with some of her quirks we had no problem believing that she was human.”

“Her kind is known to control people. What if she is controlling your mind, Pearl?” Lavender brought up.

When Pearl looked like she was considering this, and  Lapis felt a pit in her stomach, “She can’t physically speak, so she wouldn’t be able. They control people through song.”

Pearl seemed to accept this and went back to her silent thinking and Lavender was fidgety and unhappy. “How can we know you are telling the truth? When you obviously have a thing for that monster who can kill and eat anyone on this ship. She could be controlling you as well as Pearl.”

Lapis took a deep breath and dug around in her bag and in Peridot’s bag and pulled out a glass jar filled with glowing green liquid. “She can use magic, but it’s not mind control. As proof here’s a healing potion that she made before we left her cave.” Now everyone was looking at the glowing liquid with peak interest, in their minds it was probably one of the most valuable things they’ve ever seen. “Well, you just gonna look at it? Heal yourself, Lavender.”

“I’m not trusting that stuff,” Lavender said, although she looked at the bottle with interest.

Lapis rolled her eyes and took the small dagger that she had on her belt and quickly made a thin slash on her arm about three inches long before anyone could protest. “Lapis! What do you think you’re doing!” Pearl yelled.

She paid Pearl no mind as she opened the bottle and spread some of the green liquid on her arm and everyone watched as the wound healed seamlessly. Though, the bubbling festering feeling of her cut closing made Lapis have to choke down a small sound of pain. “When she first found me she used a healing potion to save my life after Jasper injured me. I’d be careful though it really burns.”

Lavender looked at the glass for a moment before taking it in her hand and putting a large amount on the cuts on her face. “AHH!” she screamed and put both of her hands to her face. “What the hell? You didn’t seem in this much pain when you healed!”

“My cut was thin and shallow. Not to mention she healed a really big gash on my chest before, so I’m somewhat used to the pain.”

When Lavender removed her hands two of the cuts looked less deep and she was breathing heavy. Pearl looked at her, “That's amazing. Do you know how much you could sell this for on land? Do you have anymore?”

“I have a couple of healing, underwater breathing, and body modifier potions. She had a book of potions in her cave.”

Pearl nodded and looked like she was about to say something when Lavender let out another pain filled yell. “If you’re going to heal then do it outside the cabin,” Pearl said irritably. As soon as she left Pearl turned her attention to Lapis, “Is there anything else that you want to tell us? I suggest that you do now that she’s gone.”

Lapis thought for a moment. _Should I tell her about the metal thing? I guess it’s better that I tell her now with Lavender gone then everyone finding out later._ “She also had the power to move and bend metal.”

“Excuse me?” Pearl said in disbelief.

“She can move metal and bend it to her will. How do you think she walks with those metal feet?”

Pearl though for a moment, “So, I guess that the metal bars downstairs won’t hold her.”

“Not a chance.”  

“You do know this makes her more dangerous right? More of a reason why we should just kill her.”

“We both know you don’t want to do that.”

“I may not want to do that, but I need to do what’s best of the crew and Lavender brought up some very convincing points.”

_FUCK. I’m not sure if she’s just toying with me right now or if she is really going to kill her._

“Sapphire and Garnet I called you two in here because I need your future seeing abilities on this matter.”

“As always Pearl, you must ask your questions carefully and keep in mind that the answers that you receive may or may not affect the future that we see,” Sapphire cautioned.

“Of course. For both of you, will Peridot harm a human?”

“No,” said Sapphire after a slight pause.

Garnet had to stay silent for an extra moment, “Yes.”

“Interesting,” Pearl mumbled. “Will she...kill a human?”

“No,” said Sapphire immediately.

Then they all looked at Garnet who was having trouble answering, “Perhaps.”

Everyone got a bit more on edge, “I think this settles it.” Pearl went to get up.

“Wait, no. Pearl you-you can’t do that!” Lapis yelled.

“I told you Lapis, I need to do what’s best for my crew,” Pearl said. Her face was hard, but she still looked like she was hurting.

Lapis grabbed her arm, “No! Pearl, please! Please!” She felt like she was going to break down and cry.

“I’m sorry Lapis, but I have to. A lot of the crew will want this too.”

“Pearl, what do you want to not do it? I can give you all of these potions and look-look.” Lapis reached into her back and pulled out a handful of gold coins.

“There is no bribe that I would take,” Pearl pulled her arm away from Lapis and turned away.

 _SHIT SHIT SHIT!  What do I do? What do I do? WhatdoIdo?_ “I think I have a bribe that you would take,” Lapis said quickly. She fumbled through her bag and pulled out the metal case that held Pink Diamond’s pendent. “If you let her live until we reach Homeland, I’ll give you this.”

At the sight of the pendent Pearl’s mouth dropped open, “Where did you get that? Her necklace went down with her.”

“Peridot lived at the bottom of the ocean and she collects anything that she finds. Everything in this bag is technically hers and I’m sure she would trade it for her life.”

“Do you realize what you’ve been doing? Homeland has a magic tracker for that now. You two have been leading Homeland ships straight to us!”

“Relax, the metal casing stops any magic signals. What do you say? One of the most priceless pieces of memorabilia of the war and a lasting mark of Rose’s success.”

“In exchange for Peridot’s life we will accept your potions, gold, and pendent,” Pearl said after a moment’s thought.

“Hey! You said you didn’t want the other things!” Lapis yelled.

“You offered and would you not want me to accept the deal and kill her?”

 _This fucking sucks. I should just tell Peridot to sink this whole fucking ship._ Lapis dropped her bag on Pearl’s desk handing over her bribe. “This is a really shitty thing to do to us,” Lapis said.

Pearl didn’t answer her and took the things from her and put them in her desk as Lavender came back in. Her face was all healed except for five very light scars that a person would have to strain to see. “Did I miss the anything important?”

“Yes, we came to a deal where Peridot will stay alive, but she will stay in the cell downstairs until her and Lapis leave when we reach Homeland. Amethyst will guard her, and her and Lapis won’t interact until then."

Lapis looked at Pearl with anger and was about to protest, but then thought better of it. _I have nothing left to give to her except for the meager sum she gives us to work on this fucking ship._ “I still think we should kill her,” Lavender grumbled.

“I think that we are done for right now, good night ladies,” Pearl said dismissing everyone.

They all left the room and most went back downstairs until only Lapis and Amethyst remained. “Dude, I’m really sorry about all of this,” Amethyst said empathy in her voice.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I can try to talk to Pearl about it later. It’s not right for her to take everything you have.”

“No, I wouldn’t want you to ruin your chances with her,” Lapis replied shakily. She went to the spot where her and Peridot usually slept and realized that she had given the clothes to Pearl as well. _No way I’m sleeping downstairs tonight. Guess it’s just the deck._  

“She just took advantage of you and Peridot, and that’s not right!” Amethyst yelled.

“Amethyst I’ve been screwed over by life more times than I can count. She’s just trying to do what’s best for the ship and the crew. Hell, she probably wants all that gold so she can pay for repairs.” _I want to by angry right now, but I just...I can’t. I just feel defeated._

“But, that’s not right!”

“No, it’s not. Goodnight, Amethyst,” Lapis said in a calm broken voice as she laid down on the hard deck. She finally let herself cry as she heard Amethyst’s footsteps fade and go downstairs. After a while she fell asleep sobbing, cold, and alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good to be back writing Lappy! For clarification, Sapphire can only see short distances into the future while Garnet sees further away. I had a small backstory planned to explain that, but I never got around to putting it in, apologies.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis found her way down to the dark underbelly of the ship late at night and it was so dark that it seemed like the objects she was seeing were shifting slightly. All of the lanterns were out and Lapis grabbed one and swiftly made her way to the bars that separated her and Peridot while trying to light the fire. “Peridot? I’m here and I have an idea. We’ll just take a lifeboat and make our own way to land. How does-” She lit the lantern and dropped it on the ground with a clank and a shatter from what she saw.

_ Oh lord, I feel sick. She-she.  _ Lapis put her hand against the red stained wood grain feeling substances that she didn’t want to think about. She looked down at what was left of Peridot’s body that was slumped against the same wall, but with a large hole in her head. Lapis’ own head became dizzy and hot with tears and grief as she collapsed on Peridot’s body. 

Peridot was cold and had red dripping down her forehead to her neck that was absorbed into the fabric of her dress green top. “Peridot what happened? Who did this to you?” Lapis said as she cradled her head. 

“Oh, I think you know who would do this to her,” said a smooth threatening voice.

Lapis looked up and from the flickering flame light of the dropped lantern saw sharp white teeth that were curled into a cruel smile. “Lavender, Pearl didn’t tell you that you couldn't kill her!”

A dark chuckle came from the huge woman who stepped out of the corner and more into the light. She knelt down to Lapis’ level and that’s when she saw her bright yellow eyes, scarred face, and light purple hair. “Who said I was Lavender?” 

Lapis looked closer at the woman and noticed that she was the perfect terrifying blend of Jasper and Lavender. She could only stare wide eyed at the sight when the other woman, who balled her huge hand into a fist that was heading straight for her.     

Her eyes popped open and she realized that she was all alone, shaking on cold top deck in the middle of the night. She sat up to lean against the banister and held her legs with her hands as she tried to calm down from her dream.  _ Fuck. This...this is a lot harder without Peri.  _ Lapis missed the comforting touch and endless support that the small woman always gave her during times like this. 

Eventually she calmed down enough to try to go back to sleep which she succeeded in for some time until other twisted memories played in her head. Some were about Lavender who was able to take Lapis back into the kitchen and do as she pleased with her barely responsive mind and body. Others were like the last one where she had to dispose of Peridot’s remains or watch her die by the hands of her crew mates. 

A couple times when she would awake from these nightmares, Pearl would be walking out of her cabin and making her way to the top of the ship to check the stars. They never made eye contact. At around seven Lapis decided that she had enough and just got up and got to work to try to distract her. Her day passed by quickly because Amethyst was no longer up on deck to talk to her and the rest of the crew stayed a safe distance away.

_ Whatever. It’s not like any of them stood up for Peridot. I don’t need to talk to them.  _ So she didn’t. It was lonely though, because no one would even make eye contact with her or if they did it was a dirty look.  _ God damn, I’ve been in prisons that were more friendly to me. And to be honest that is what it’s starting to feel like.  _ Even though she wasn’t in a cage like Peridot. 

When it was time for dinner everyone was noticeably more tense and the light atmosphere that usually surrounded everyone was heavy. It got especially tense when Lapis took her normal seat and then Lavender also took hers. They were positioned so that the dark cage that held Peridot was directly behind where they were sitting. 

She itched to turn around and look at the cage, but she knew she couldn’t with so many eyes around, and Pearl at the head of the table. The seat beside the captain was also noticeably empty.  _ I wonder why Amethyst didn’t just move over a seat. Maybe Pearl isn’t sure of Amethyst’s intentions. Eh, whatever fuck her. If it wasn’t Amethyst pining after her I would try my absolute fucking best to destroy Pearl’s chance at a happy life. _

“You look tense, Lapis,” Lavender said from beside her.

“Gee, I wonder why,” Lapis said with an eyeroll.

“I do wonder why,” Lavender said as her hand ghosted over the mark on Lapis’ neck and then lightly rested that hand on her shoulder.

Lapis froze and tensed at the contact, but didn’t say anything. Everyone else seemed to be enrapt in their quiet conversations, but some were sneaking glanced over to them. “Lavender, please leave me alone,” Lapis said in a small shaky voice. She hated that voice that she had developed over the years in response to the many blows she received from Jasper. 

Luckily, more people were starting to observe them and Lavender backed down.  _ No fucking way am I sleeping down with the rest of the crew where Lavender has the opportunity to be near me when I sleep.  _ Later that night Lapis decided that it would be best to hide up on deck so no one would bother her, so she decided on the crow's nest on the top of the ship. It was cold, but if she curled up then the wind would be off of her and it was slightly better than being exposed on the deck.  

She slept just as well as she did the previous night from more nightmares and after a couple of those Lapis decided to stay awake for the rest of the night. Though she wasn’t asleep the visions of the past, present, and nonexistent realities clouded her tired vision.

Lapis started to shimmy down the pole at the first sign of light and almost fell off a couple of times due to her freezing limbs and dazed mind.  _ I wish Amethyst was here right now to help me check this equipment.  _ Her constant shaking and blurry vision were not helping her inspection of the ropes. In the back of her mind Lapis also noted that her limbs felt heavy and that she hadn’t drank any alcohol in almost two days meaning her withdrawal was coming up.  _ Can’t risk getting drunk again. _

Through the day once again no one bothered her and Lapis noticed that none of the crew that she regularly saw were up with her on deck.  _ Not that I’m complaining about Lavender not being up here, but where is Chip, Skinny, and Carnelian? I guess it doesn’t really matter. _

Around midday Pearl came over to her wearing a frown and an anxious expression, though it quickly molded to mild concern when she took in Lapis’ appearance. She hadn’t looked at herself in a mirror in a while, but Lapis knew that her hair was messy as were her close, and she probably had pale skin and coon eyes. “Lapis, you look awful.”

Lapis looked at her with an annoyed tired sarcastic smile, “Thanks for the complement, Pearl.”

“I was hoping you would have told me that you were fine or what was wrong with you.”

“I think you already know. Now what do you want? You never talk to me for fun.”

“Ah, yes. You see Peridot and I concluded that we would be in New Colony by today, but last night when I checked the stars I found that we might be there by tomorrow or the day after,” Pearl explained.

“What’s that gotta do with me?” Lapis asked. 

“Well you said the other day that Peridot can move metal, so I wanted to ask if she could be slowing down the ship on purpose?”

Lapis looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, “Why the fuck would she do that?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps to get back at me or the crew for locking her up.”

“First of all, you know Peridot doesn’t work like that, she’s a very logical person and if you explained it to her, she would probably approve of locking her up or even shooting her. Second, why the hell didn’t you just ask her yourself?”

“You really think she would understand?” Pearl asked. She looked as guilty as a man who committed murder and was just as sorrowful. 

“She’s not human, Pearl. No matter how much you or I want her to be. Her kind thrives on truth and logic. I assure you that if you ask her a question you will always get the truth.”

Pearl shifted uncomfortably for a moment on the deck and bit her lip, “Lapis if...do you want to talk about anything?”

Lapis looked at Pearl, or more accurately with her tired eyes, she looked through and all around her. “I don’t think I can yet.”

“Perhaps when you feel better?”

“Perhaps.”

Pearl then straightened her coat, nodded to her, and turned away presumably heading downstairs to talk with Peridot. Lapis stared at the door long after it closed.  _ Did she just feel bad for me when she looked at me? Or is she actually sorry she did a shitty thing? Ugh, this is too much feelings for me lately.  _ Lapis slowly continued her work and ignored everyone else.

By the time she crept her way downstairs her body was shaking slightly as she moved. Lapis wasn’t quite sure if it was from the lack of sleep, minimal food, or her anxiety, but it was certainly making her sick. 

The table was louder than it was the day before and Lapis took her usual seat and soon after Lavender took hers. Lapis was silent through most of the dinner and Lavender talked to the crew member that was on the other side of her. But, through the conversation she noticed that sometimes their eyes would meet and Lavender’s hand would brush her thigh. 

It would cause Lapis to tense and sit up straighter, but she made no comment. 

Soon Pearl went upstairs to stare at the stars and the merriment below deck started which meant that the drinks started to be passed out. Lapis passed on the drink and started to head upstairs when Lapis lightly grasped her arm and handed her a glass bottle of whiskey. “No thank you, Lavender.”

“Why not? You look like you need it,” Lavender said with a smile that Lapis assumed the woman wanted to be calming. 

“Because I’m tired of people fucking me figuratively and very literally when I’m drunk.”

Lavender’s smile turned, “Come on now-”

“I said no.”

“Fine. Maybe I’ll give it to the fish and try my luck with her and find out why you’re so attracted to that animal.”

Lapis snorted, “Honestly, good luck with that. She hates alcohol just as much as she hates you.”

Lavender’s dark smile came back, “Well, she is just sitting there in a dark secluded cage by herself. I could probably persuade her.” 

Lapis felt herself pale and her heart stop.  _ Would she do that to her?! Could she get away with it? Would anyone care what she was doing to Peridot?  _ She didn’t want to wait and find out, so Lapis smashed the glass bottle on the table and held the handle in her hand as a weapon, “If you even try to harm her I will lacerate you to a point that there is no healing potion on this Earth that would fix you,” Lapis spat venomously. 

Lavender backed up with her hands up, “Take it easy Lapis.”

Lapis moved forward, “Why should I?” It was the first time in a long time that she felt this kind of anger towards someone. The last time she did was when she still fought back against Jasper, but something inside her snapped. 

She kept advancing on her until Amethyst ran over with a glass in her hand and tried to calm the situation. “Hey, hey, Lapis why don’t we go and talk upstairs for a bit?”

Lapis looked at Amethyst then Lavender and then over to the dark cage in the corner, “No, I want to stay down here tonight.”

Amethyst looked around nervously, “Lapis, you’re about to stab someone and everything will be find down here.” She tugged Lapis away upstairs.

While they were going upstairs Lapis was glancing back and giving Lavender death glares. Amethyst brought them up to the front of the ship where they usually talked and sat her down. “Why did you take me away? Lavender could be hurting Peridot right now!” 

Amethyst put down her glass and looked Lapis in the eyes, “Lapis calm down. Most of the people down there wouldn’t let Lavender near her. They like her too much and are aware what Lavender can do.”

“Why didn’t they speak up then when she transformed?”

“Well, everyone was a little surprised and they just saw a dangerous animal and not Peridot. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I was afraid you guys would act like that and kill her without getting to know her like I did,” Lapis said. 

“I guess that was a reasonable fear. Thank god everything is turning out okay.” 

“Amethyst, I stopped believing in god a long time ago.” Lapis was looking down at the dark ocean below as she said this, her eyes tired and far away. She noticed that the water looked the same as when she was thrown into the water by Jasper and left to die.

Amethyst turned to her quickly and then up at the sky as if something was coming for them, “Dude, you shouldn’t say that! What if they hear?”

“I don’t think they’ve been watching me anyway. Or you know, they just hate me and allow the terrible things in this world to continue to happen.”

They sat in silence for a little while, Lapis looking at the dark abyss thinking of times and tragedies long gone, and Amethyst looking at her friend with concern. “You know,” Amethyst started, “Pearl said that we should arrive by tomorrow or the day after that. And I’ll be leaving the ship to go ashore like everyone else. Just to let you know.”

Lapis glanced at her, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Now do you want some alcohol? You look like you’re going through some serious withdrawal.” As she said this Amethyst held out her mug that was half empty.

“No, I quit once when Peridot and I first met, I can do it again. And umm...thanks Amethyst, for everything.”

Amethyst gave her a small smile and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, “No prob, Bob.”  

For a while they sat and talked about simple things and sometimes in silence until Lapis got up and made her way over to the mast. “I’m going to sleep. Good night, Amethyst.”

“You’re sleeping up there? You want some blankets or something?”

“We both know that there aren’t enough blankets to go around.”

“Not for long,” Amethyst said quietly. 

Lapis turned to her, “What was that?”

“Nothing. Good night and feel better,” Amethyst said as she made her way over to Pearl’s door and slinked inside the captain’s cabin.

As Lapis slept her night was filled with nightmares and horrors, but not as bad as the other nights. During the day Lapis avoided everyone not that it was that hard because at about three in the afternoon they saw land for the first time in about two months. When the boat reached the dock almost everyone on the crew was on the top deck and Lapis watched them from above. 

They spent a lot of time getting the crates and transporting them to the shore and to the people who ordered the products. By the time that everyone was careening off the ship it was the end of the day and the night was soon coming. 

Lapis made her way down the mast and down the stairs to the lower deck and then to where the cage was and ran to it. Lapis wrapped her hands around the bars and rattled the cage door. “Peridot! I can’t get in Amethyst didn’t leave the door unlocked.” 

Peridot was by her in an instant and waved her hand so that the bars bended enough so Lapis could slip through. When Lapis went into the cage she tackled the smaller woman in a tight embrace digging her head into her shoulder. “I missed you so much.”

She felt Peridot rub shapes into her back and try to calm her down like she did in the cave. Lapis cried, her tears absorbing into the fabric she was up against. She started to feel drowsy when she felt Peridot’s breath whisper sweet nothings to her that she couldn’t hear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, updates will be a bit wonky for a few weeks because I have a lot of final projects and tests to study for and write up.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

When Lapis woke up she groaned and shifted slightly on her bed. _Ugh, where am I? Better question is when will I stop waking up and asking myself that?_ Lapis’ head hurt, but it was a different type of hurt then what she usually felt. It was more like a dull throb rather than a harsh pounding. _I have to say that was the best sleep I’ve had in...wait._

She finally looked up from her pillow- _ha-_ and stared up into Peridot’s green sparkling half lidded eyes and Lapis smiled as her own eyes became half lidded and was mesmerized by the abyss before her. She was relaxed by Peridot’s breathing motions slowly moving her up and down while she felt soft breath on her face. ‘Hello,’ Peridot mouthed. As she mouthed the word Lapis felt arms drape over her and pull her upwards slightly.

Lapis swallowed, “Hello.”

One of Peridots hands slowly trailed its way up her back and to Lapis’ blue hair where it started to lightly tug on the ends and comb through it. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’

This time Lapis let out a content sigh paired with a tired smile, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Peridot tilted her head, ‘Are you still tired?’

“A little bit. But, I’ve slept long enough. Your back must be aching from being on the floor and me sleeping on top of you all night.” Lapis was about to get up when Peridot trapped her again with those scintillating eyes, her breath was caught in her throat.  

‘Well, I don’t mind you being on top of me,’ Peridot mouthed with an almost sultry look. Lapis’ face blossomed red and she must have been giving her quite a look because Peridot’s face quickly grew worried. ‘Lapis? Are you alright? I told Amethyst that you wouldn’t like me saying that as much as she thought you would.’

_Fucking Amethyst of course._ “I forgot that you probably only talked to Amethyst and Pearl for the last three days. Just...did she tell you to say anything else to me?” Lapis asked.

Peridot nodded, ‘Some things like: I’m glad that you decided to spend the night with me, the ocean isn’t the only thing that makes me wet, and I’m hungry and I would really like to eat you.’

Lapis felt her blush and her frown get deeper, “Don’t say anything that Amethyst told you to say without checking it with me.”

‘If that’s what you want. But, I’m not sure what all of those mean exactly. Can you explain?’

Her eyes widened, “I’ll explain later,” Lapis said quickly.

Now Peridot gave her a small frown, ‘You always say that and I feel like you never tell me about it later. I see that these words disturb you, but I can feel your emotions and they have a somewhat pleasurable tint.’

Lapis took a deep breath, “Well, they are all innuendos.” _I really hope that she knows what that word means off the top of her head._

It was hard to tell because Peridot was silent and no part of her moved except for her eyes which looked like were analyzing Lapis’ face. ‘I understand. You humans have a weird way of doing things. But, it makes sense that much of your courtship would have to do with talking.’

Lapis raised a brow intrigued, “And yours doesn’t?”

‘Well, mine takes months to complete and it does involve a lot of singing and dancing as well as increased physical contact until mating occurs. Though, from my observations yours does not seem to be as painful.’

And now Lapis was concerned, “Painful?”

‘Indeed. Humans don’t seem to bite, claw, and cry out in pain as much.’

“Wait. How would you know that about your species? Have you-”

Peridot shook her head, ‘I had smaller relatives. You should not be too embarrassed to speak of such things Lapis, they are only a matter of life.’

“Usually I’m not,” Lapis said. _It’s hard to keep calm when the person that get you all hot and bothered for starts seducing you. I’m glad she doesn’t really seem to be advancing so much though, I’m not sure I’d be ready to do anything like that yet._

They sat in silence for a few minutes lost in their thoughts before Lapis actually got up and held out her hand to Peridot. “Come on, you’ve been trapped in here too long. Let’s get on shore.”

Peridot took her hand and stood up next to her, ‘That sounds lovely. Let me get something.’

Lapis watched as Peridot went to the back of her small room and grabbed her old bag. “What’s in the bag?” Peridot showed her and inside was the old book Peridot carried with her, three potions (one of each type), and a handful of gold coins. “What! Did Pearl give this to you?”

‘Yes, yesterday. She tried to give me back all the gold, but I’ve heard her dreams of manning a better ship and the crew’s cries for better conditions, so I refused. She said that these things were rightfully mine and she thought that you were trying to steal them from me!” Peridot finished with a smile and a soundless laugh.

_Yep, that sounds like Pearl._ But another glaring problem made it’s way into her mind. “Peri, that means that we won’t have much money to go to shore with.”

‘Affirmative, but if we go back the route that we came the ship will pass my cave once more.’

_Well, dumb ass looks like Peridot’s right again. Why do I even question her?_ “Good point. Now ready to experience land?” Lapis asked with a smile. She held out an arm to Peridot like a high class gentleman.

‘Indeed!’ Peridot mouthed as she took Lapis’ arm and made their way upstairs.

When they made it upstairs Lapis noticed that the sun was high in the cloudless cobalt sky and the temperature was perfect, not being too hot or cold with the almost summer rays beating down on them. A gentle breeze flew through the salt stained air and a few seabirds gave loud piercing calls. Lapis took a nice deep breath. _This is the best I’ve felt in a long time._

They walked off of the boat and and onto the dock that lead to the bustling square of New Colony. It was the first time Lapis had actually been to New Colony because when she traveled on the Crystal Gem last they were already heading to Homeland. She looked around at the newish cottages and stores with a smile. _It’s so new here. Much cleaner and spacious than Cerulean Harbor_. All the cottages looked to be made of wood while the stores out of stone, children were running around and enjoying the near summer day.

Lapis turned to Peridot, “So, what are your first thoughts?”

Peridot was looking around and analyzing the space and the multitude of people that passed them. ‘You live in these structures permanently, correct?’

_Not the first thing I thought she would bring up._ “Well, we do live in houses for a long time, but people can change houses if the want.”

‘Interesting. What are all these non humans?’ Peridot asked.

Lapis looked around at some of the townsfolk who were bigger than normal humans, had horns growing out of their heads, or had a variety of animalistic features. “It depends on the individual. Some can be giants or different types of demons or werecreatures.”

‘How do you keep track of all of them?’ Peridot asked looking at a tall smiling man covered in fur who was talking to a laughing beautiful woman with a forked tail and bat wings.  

“Eh, it’s just something that you memorize over time. Why don’t we look around the town?” Peridot nodded and Lapis made sure to keep their arms linked so Peridot wouldn’t walk into anything. She stayed close to Lapis anyway and stiffened if anyone bumped or brushed against her.   _While I want to go and buy actual food immediately, I think I know where we should go first._

Lapis walked up to a lovely looking fair skinned woman who had vibrant red hair, but no other noticeable odd features. “Hello miss, do you know if there is an eyeglass store nearby?” Lapis asked the lady.

The woman raised an eyebrow at the pair and looked them over before answering, “Travelers, huh? Yeah, go down four buildings and take a left and you’ll see it.”

“Thank you, miss.”

She gave no reply and turned away briskly. _I would have thought that people here would be a bit more friendly._ They took the directions and found their way to the glasses shop and walked in. ‘What are we doing here?’

“Getting you a pair of glasses so you can actually see where you’re going during the daytime,” Lapis answered.

A very small woman with a blue bob cut appeared almost instantly, “Greetings and welcome to Aquamarine’s Pristine Eyewear, how can I help you?” She too studied them as she said that, as if she was looking for some sort of indication or marking.

“Hello Miss Aquamarine, my friend here needs a pair of glasses preferably with a tint. She has sensitive eyes.”

“I’m sure we can find something that she will be pleased with,” Aquamarine said with a strained smile like she didn’t trust them.    

It took a long time, but after explaining exactly what glasses did and why it would be beneficial to have them Peridot finally found a pair that she liked. They had a clear frame and yellow tinted round lenses that almost obstructed the color of her eyes. “Thanks, now what do we owe you?” Lapis said turning to the pixie like woman who was doing calculations.

“That would be ten gold please,” Aquamarine said looking up.

Lapis almost had a heart attack at the price, “Excuse me, I know these things are expensive, but I know for fucking sure that they do not cost that much!”

“Well for your kind they do. I need to make money somehow and the tax you humans passed on monster stores does not help with that!” Aquamarine shot back.

Now two larger woman came out from the back room that both looked like they were at least half giants. “Aqua! You can’t say that to a customer!” one chided.

“Look, I don’t live here and assign your taxes and I know that even with a tax like that a pair of spectacles shouldn’t cost that much!” Lapis yelled.

The two went at it for a few minutes firing insults back and forth until four gold coins raised their way out of the bag and floated towards one of the giant woman. “There you go miss, pleasure doing business with you,” the other giant woman said, handing a small case and rag to Peridot.

“What! Topaz, why did you do that?” Aquamarine said with anger.

Topaz looked at here calmly, “Because you can’t put our position in life on these two. Especially since this one is one of us.”  

Peridot wrote something on a paper that already had words on it and handed it to Topaz. “Yes, all monster stores had a special tax imposed on them a couple months ago. Surprising since more and more of us are migrating from Homeland over to here.”

“Why? What’s going on in Homeland?” Lapis asked.

“Same thing that's happening here,” Aquamarine said with a bored expression, “Humans are afraid of us. Unfortunately for them, we will have the numbers advantage soon enough.” She finished with an almost dark laugh and a wide toothy smile. “So, what are you two?”

“I’m human and Peridot is a mermaid,” Lapis said seeing no point in lying.

After saying that the Topazes and Aquamarine stepped back in surprise, “Mermaid? What are you doing with one of those? They have been known to eat people and monsters! Anything they can get their hands on.”

_Alright, apparently no one trusts mermaids. Got it. Can’t tell anyone._ Lapis rolled her eyes, “Calm down, she literally just bought something from you and has been sitting here nicely this whole time.”

“They don’t have any morals or laws,” Aquamarine accused. She started toying with the end of the bow on her head.

“She just runs more on logic than emotions. I’ve been with her for almost two years and I’m still here,” Lapis countered narrowing her eyes.

Peridot tugged on her sleeve, ‘Let’s just leave. I want to see more of the town.’

“Yeah, okay. Thanks for the glasses and the information I guess,” Lapis said as they got up. _God I can feel their eyes following us out of the store._ When they got outside she started to look around for a decent place to eat. They walked up on two restaurants, one looked like it was run by a voluptuous short blonde woman with a bright bushy tail and the other a human. _Since Peridot can pass as a human and I can’t as a monster, I guess we’ll go to the human one._

They went into the restaurant which looked like the typical family style joint you would find in a harbor town and were seated immediately and given menus. “So these are the things that you can order and if you’re not sure what something is ask and I’ll tell you.”

The pair had to send the waiter away a few times before Peridot could get through the whole menu and decided what she wanted. “Are you two ready?” the waiter said with strained patience.

“Yes, we’ll have a bowl of pumpkin stew, smoked tuna, a glass of water, and a glass of milk please,” Lapis ordered.

The man said nothing and took their menus before walking away with their order. ‘So that is the male of your species?’ Peridot asked looking at the man from behind as he walked away.

He was an older gentleman, probably the owner of the store, but he still had some muscle and a decent face. _Not bad. If I swung that way I wouldn’t mind fucking him._ “Yeah, like what you see?” Lapis said with a playful smile.

‘From what I have observed they are very unimpressive.’ Peridot said this with a very judgmental look.

Lapis let out a laugh at that, “They sure are.”

A young teenager walked out of the back of the store and started to clear off the table beside them. He had tan skin, a long thin body, and was shaking like a leaf. Her and Peridot watch as the boy cleared off the table and proceeded to trip on his own feet and drop all of the dishes on the floor with a load crash. Peridot got up and started to help the boy pick up the dropped plates.

Their waiter came back out and started to yell viciously at the teenager who started to cry as Peridot used her powers to pick up the silverware and place it on the table. “I dropped it because that monster tripped me!” the boy yelled.

“What?! She did nothing of the sort!” Lapis shot back rising from her chair.

“I’m tired of you fuckin’ mutants doing shit like this, especially to our kids, get out before I get my gun!” The man yelled.

Instead of risking a confrontation the pair made their way outside and next door to the monster run establishment for some food. The woman came up to them immediately and brought them to the front counter. She looked like she was tired and overworked, but still had a cheerful attitude. “Welcome to the Big Donut! We specialize in fried dough here, but I’m sure we’ll have a few other things that you may find to your liking!”

_God damn, finally someone who doesn't care._ “Do you have any meal items here or is this just a dessert shop?” Lapis asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry miss, we only have specialty desserts.” Her tail lowered and went to move away.

“You what? That’s fine. I could use something that tastes sweet right now anyway,” Lapis said quickly.

The woman perked back up, “Why thank you! What would you like?”

“Give us two donuts, your choice, and a pumpkin pie, please.”

The woman went to the back and Lapis smiled. “You’ll love these, Peridot.”

“I’m sure she will, Sadie makes the best baked goods,” said a young red haired man in the corner. He was leaning against the wall and had huge earlobes signifying that he wore gauges, and a small name tag on his shirt that read, Lars. _From the way he said her name and the look he is giving that doorway, I think I can assume that they are either a couple or he likes her._

Lapis looked him over and noticed that he looked human in contrast to his companion. “I hope so, we haven’t eaten today.”

The young man turned and gave them a smug smile, “I can guess, we heard you get kicked out of the restaurant next to us. I wouldn’t worry that guys a huge prick.”

“He was. So you two own this place?” Lapis asked.

At this Lars frowned, “Technically I own the shop, but Sadie bakes almost everything and does most of the work.”

“Is it because of the monster tax?”

Lars nodded, “Among other things. It was her dream to open this place though.”

Lapis felt a twinge in her heart for the younger woman. “I’ve had dreams to open my own business too,” Lapis said absentmindedly.

“It would be nice to have another couple like us in town,” Lars said gesturing to her and Peridot. “But I wouldn’t suggest doing it here.” Lars finished.

Lapis nodded, “I’ve noticed that things seem tense here.”

“No kidding. You should keep your girlfriend there under wraps. No telling what someone will do to her since she’s so pretty and she’s a monster,” he turned away and looked at the doorway that Sadie disappeared into, “They’ve been known to get away with a lot.”

Lapis frowned and took Peridot’s hand and held it tightly, “Noted. Thanks for the info.”

Lars didn’t say anything else as Sadie came back with their order. “Sorry that took so long, the pie filling was giving me some trouble,” Sadie said with a tired smile.

“It’s fine. How much do we owe you?”

“That would be...two bronze and a silver please,” Sadie said somewhat nervously. _Why is she so scared of the price? She’s fine compared to the robbery that is that glasses shop._ It was Peridot who reached into the bag and pulled out three gold coins and placed them in Sadie’s hand. “Miss, this is too much money! You only-”

Peridot closed Sadie’s hand and placed her hand over hers and nodded. It looked like the poor woman was about to cry. _She definitely deserves this money more than Aquamarine did._ “Have a great day,” Lapis said and the pair walked out of the store with their desserts.

‘That felt good,’ Peridot mouthed.

“I really hope she does well. Now let’s get back to the ship before it gets dark,” Lapis said.

They still walked arm in arm down the street as the sun began to set filling the sky with oranges, reds, and pinks.They passed a bookstore and a magic shop which they decided that they will go to the next day. One of the last buildings that the two passed was the town bar and whore house which they didn’t even bat an eye towards.

When they got back to the ship they decided to raid the kitchen for any extra food they could cook up and have an actual meal before dessert. They luckily found a couple of fish and cornmeal and were able to cook them to have a semi decent meal. When they were done Peridot lead them back over to her cell. “You are willingly going into that cage?”

Peridot smiled and willed the bars to move, ‘It is a good temperature and it is safe. It keeps everyone else out.’

Lapis thought for a moment, “I guess I’ve never thought about it like that.” Now they were safely in the cell, so Peridot closed the bars once more. The cell had two beds on either side that were floating in the air by using chains on the wall. There was a hook for a lamp on the back wall and other than that their was not much space to walk around.

Peridot laid down on one of the floating benches which Lapis now realized had their sleeping clothes on it. With a wave of her hand Peridot’s feet came off and went underneath the bench. Lapis went to go to the other bench on the other side of the room when Peridot grabbed her hand. ‘Where are you going?’

“I thought I would sleep on the other bench.”

Peridot shook her head, ‘No.’

“No?” Lapis asked with a slight laugh and a smile. The small woman opened her arms to invite Lapis to join her and when she did so Peridot closed her arms around them which allowed Lapis to snuggle into her. Lapis nuzzled Peridot’s forehead with her own. “I like being on top of you,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: When I outlined this story it was only supposed to be 15 chapters, an epilogue, and about 30k words.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis awoke the next morning to the feeling of someone stroking her neck lightly and repeatedly. “This is nice to wake up to,” she said to Peridot when she raised her head. Peridot wasn’t smiling however as she was stroking her, she was paying particular attention to her neck. “What’s wrong?” Lapis asked. 

‘The mark is still present,’ Peridot mouthed while she traced over the bruise that Lavender left her.

_ Right I almost forgot about that.  _ “Nothing we can do about it, Peri. Just got to wait for it to heal.”

She moved her head side to side, ‘It’ll still be there. Lavender is not your mate. It’s wrong.’

“What do you want me to do about it?” Lapis asked. Peridot didn’t give her a verbal answer, she only showed Lapis her human teeth. “Biting me isn’t going to make the mark go away, it’s just going to make it darker,” she pointed out.

‘If I break the skin then we can heal it with a healing potion,’ Peridot countered.

Lapis smirked, “But won’t the mark still be there?” She craned her neck so the bruise was more visible to Peridot.

At the sight of the mark Peridot’s pupils shrunk and Lapis felt her gentle breathing freeze. ‘It won’t be hers.’

“Well, I mean if it bothers you that much then go ahead.”

Peridot looked away from her neck. ‘Are you sure?’

Lapis nodded and Peridot floated a metal contained of some kind to her and dipper her fingers in it. In almost an instant she let her mouth transform giving her very sharp and very not human teeth. The sight of them brought Lapis back to when they were traveling up from the ocean and she saw a small fish get impaled by similar ones.  _ I thought she was just going to bite on my neck with her human teeth for a minute. This might actually hurt.  _

She didn’t have time for any more thoughts because Peridot pulled her up so that her mouth could reach her neck. The pain was quick from her teeth scraping, not biting, Lapis’ bruised skin and after a moment she felt the tell tale burn of the healing potion. She tensed up for a second, but the pain was less than usual because she could focus on the feeling of Peridot holding her. When the burning stopped she felt a tongue quickly swipe her neck. 

Peridot moved her so that they were face to face again, ‘Better.’ Her teeth were shifted back to the normal human ones almost as if they were never abnormal, but they did have a slight red tint to them. 

_ I’m honestly surprised that didn’t hurt more.  _ Lapis swallowed and tried to steady herself, “Yeah, much better.”

Peridot’s smile only grew when she heard that, ‘Now, we should get ready to go to shore.’ Before she let Lapis go, Peridot hugged her close and touched foreheads, this caused Lapis to be able to feel the other woman’s heartbeat. It was erratic, but it was also nice and kind of comforting.  _ I’m going to think about the meaning of her actions later.  _

Lapis pushed her thoughts away as they rose, got their things ready, and exited the ship once more with linked arms. Even if Peridot could see better, Lapis still didn’t trust a lot of people in the port especially from what she heard yesterday. Not only that, but Peridot also seemed to be very wary of the huge crowds in the marketplace they walked into. They held each other closer when some of the vendors started to call them.

“Why don’t you come to my stall, pretty ladies? I have all the finest jewelry!”

“If you come here blonde beauty, I’ll give you a good price!”

“I’ll give you an even better price if you come to my stall and see the items I have in the back!”

_ Man, being alone with Peridot for so long made me think I missed people. Now I realize I was fucking wrong.  _ Eventually she noticed that Peridot was getting particularly irritated with each passing comment, so Lapis pushed them into the nearest store she could find to get away from the hustlers. 

“Welcome to my tailoring shop. My name is Fluorite, how may I be of service today?” said an elderly woman very slowly. She is a rather large old woman with a large nose, four eyes, and six arms.  _ I wonder what combination of magical creatures make her up.  _ The shop itself was a decent size having two display windows at the front and many mannequins with dresses and fancy clothes decorating them. 

“Yes, she needs her dress adjusted,” Lapis said quickly.

Fluorite eyed both of them for a moment, “It looks like you could both use some new clothes. I have a rack in the corner.”

“No thank you, miss. We really just need to get some tears fixed and holes patched up in her dress,” Lapis assured.

Fluorite walked over to them slowly and felt Peridot’s sleeve with her fingers, “This fabric is withered and looks to be water damaged. Some tears I should be able to fix, but not others. And are these blood stains? Oh dear…” The old woman frowned slightly as she finished the inspection of Peridot’s garment. “When was the last time both of you washed your clothes?” she asked with concern.

Lapis shrugged and looked to Peridot who held up two fingers. “Over two months, I think.”

“Oh dear, you should really wash your clothes more often,” Fluorite pointed out. She said it in a way that didn’t sound demeaning, almost like she was actually concerned about them and their clothing.

“These are the only clothes that we wear. The other ones that we have we use to sleep on,” Lapis said. Fluorite gave her a very concerned look. “You know, before you start on her dress, I think we’ll go and checkout the rack.”

Fluorite nodded, “Good.”

They walked over to the rack while Fluorite slowly went to her desk and began shuffling papers around. ‘Why were you so nervous around that woman?’ Peridot asked her as they went through the clothes.

“I’m not sure. She just sounded so sad and concerned that I didn’t really want her to judge us or feel bad for us.”

Peridot smiled and pulled out what looked like a blue bralette top and long skirt combo. ‘This would look nice on you.’

Lapis looked at it thoughtfully, “It is pretty and would match my eyes and hair, but it isn’t really practical for the work that I do on the ship.” Peridot hummed in response and put the garment back on the rack. Then Lapis pulled out a pair of pants that were a dark green color, “How about this?” 

Peridot glanced at the pants, ‘I can’t wear those. I wouldn’t be able to transform.’

“Good point.” Lapis put them back on the rack. After a little while Lapis decided to get a new pair of black pants, white collared shirt, and a long blue jacket. She liked the jacket the best with it’s gold buttons and trim that made her look kind of like a captain, though for that reason she abstained from getting a hat. “So, Peridot what did you get?” She held up a bright red bow tie proudly. “Not going to get anything else?”

Peridot shook her head and Lapis just shrugged.  _ It’s her decision what she wears.  _ They brought their clothes up to the counter. “How much would these be?” Lapis asked Fluorite. 

The old woman looked up from her patterns, “Come, step onto the platform.” She pulled Peridot up to a raised floor and took out a tape measure. “You may want to sit down, dear. This will take a while.” Fluorite said. The older woman put on two pairs of glasses that had a hard time staying on her head.

Lapis looked around and sat down on a stool that was a little ways away and watched Fluorite work. _Alright Laz, it’s a good time to start thinking._ This morning was interesting in that they woke up together once again and Peridot actually bit her neck. _But what does that mean specifically? I know it means marking someone as their mate in her culture, and I guess it means the same in mine, but_ _she was covering up Lavender’s mark._

She absentmindedly moved one hand to her neck which didn’t hurt anymore.  _ She may like me or she is worried for me and angry with Lavender and her treatment. She doesn’t understand human relationships and I don’t really understand mermaid ones. Actually, second thought based on my record I don’t think I understand intimate human relationships either since I never really had a good one. I need to talk to someone about this. _

Suddenly she felt something hit her on the head. “Hey, what gives?” Lapis asked looking at Peridot.

‘She was asking me questions and I can’t answer,’ Peridot mouthed.

“Oh, sorry. She can’t speak verbally. I’ll translate if you need to ask her anything,” Lapis said to Fluorite.  _ I guess I’ll think more about this later. _

“So, would you like it tight or loose?” the old woman asked.

“She wants it loose,” Lapis answered. 

“Alright, how much poof would you like, dear? Right now the style is to go way out and be as poofy as possible, but you would need to wear a petticoat for that.”

‘What’s a petticoat?’ Peridot asked.

“It’s like a dress under a dress to make the dress on the outside look bigger. Sapphire wears one if you ever noticed,” Lapis answered. Peridot shook her head, so Lapis told Fluorite not to make it too poofy. 

Somewhere along the way some of the basic sewing and stitching questions faded and personal ones came up. “So, you only wear one set of clothes, but you have others?” Fluorite asked adjusting her glasses. 

“The others don’t really fit and have a lot of water damage to them, and the ship we’re on doesn’t really have anything else for us to sleep on, so it works,” Lapis replied. 

“How sad,” Fluorite hummed, “That you two need to live like that.”

“Hopefully not for long. We’re going to Homeland to try to start a new life.”

Fluorite momentarily paused her work, but resumed quickly, “Start a new life? In Homeland? Why not here?” Fluorite asked.

“It’s where I’m from. This is our second day here and we’ve already run into enough racists. Here I can’t pass as magical, but there Peridot can as human,” Lapis explained.

“I’m very sorry to hear that. That sounds like the reason me and my spouses left Homeland over ten years ago,” Fluorite said with a small frown. She wiped a small tear from her eye which caused her to have to fix her glasses and restitch something on the skirt. _I’m glad she didn’t ask what Peridot is exactly._

“Spouses?” Lapis asked.

Fluorite smiled, “Ah, yes, I had five of them all at the same time. We weren’t accepted in Homeland because of that, so for our own safety we left. It was delightful here when we first came. Enough about my old memories. How about you two? How long have you been together?”

“Well, um, we’re not a couple or anything, but we’ve known each other for about two years now.”

“Oh, my apologies, dear,” Fluorite said sincerely. While the sincereness was there she also had something of a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “You two just seemed rather close.”

“It’s cool, we get that a lot,” Lapis replied not looking at her.  __

Fluorite nodded with a small smile and went back to her work. She eventually pulled out a mannequin and started to make a new skirt. She was the fastest seamstress that Lapis had ever seen, sewing and pinning things in place fluently. Next she drew the curtains, locked the door, and put a sign out that read fitting in progress. “Now dear, can you take off your skirt and put the new one on so I can adjust it?”

Lapis looked away as Peridot stepped out of her old tattered skirt and into her new one which Fluorite promptly fitted.The new skirt is long once again going down to her ankles, but not covering her feet. It is a dark green color that ruffled and flowed nicely and has sparkles that caught the low light appropriately. It looked like something a high class lady back on Homeland would wear. 

“Wear this skirt during the day and use your old one to sleep in,” Fluorite instructed pushing both pairs of glasses up once more. Peridot nodded and Fluorite went back to her desk and wrapped up the rest of the clothes into a bag. Peridot however took the bow tie and put it on top of the old shirt that she still wore.  _ She just keeps getting cuter. _

“How much do we owe you, miss?” Lapis asked. 

“It would be four gold and two silver,” the old woman said with a smile.

_For all the things that we got this seems kinda cheap._ Lapis nodded and handed the money over. Peridot must have guessed this too because she took the two pairs of glasses that the woman had and quickly fused the metal frames together properly so they would be able to stay on her head better. Fluorite took them hesitantly and put them on, and Peridot quickly made adjustments as thanks for the discount. 

They said a nice goodbye to Fluorite and exited the store and went back to walk around the marketplace, which was now more of a problem with Peridot’s new clothes. More catcalls were thrown their way and the vendors were more aggressive now that they saw a bag full on new clothes. Eventually they made it out and into a main square area to explore. “Alright, we only have a couple gold coins left, so we have to be careful on how we spend our money. Do you want to go to the magic shop or the book store?” Lapis asked.

Peridot was about to answer when they heard a familiar voice from nearby. “Greg! It’s summer time. Why not let Steven come with us on the boat this year?” Amethyst wined.   

She said this to a balding human man who looked like he had a big beer belly and a child who had to be his based on the facial features and body structure. “Because the ship is dangerous and you guys are going to Homeland! What if someone notices that he looks like Rose or someone attacks the ship!”

“Everyone that we deliver to doesn't care about the war anymore, they just care about getting their shit. Besides you let him come last year,” Amethyst said with an eye roll.

“I didn’t realize you were going to one of the most populated ports in Homeland!”

“Come on Dad, I want to travel and live on a ship and be a pirate!” Steven yelled excitedly.

“Steven,” Pearl started calmly, “We are not pirates, we are merely merchants. Gregory, Steven needs to come along with us to continue his learning on ships to eventually be a captain.” Pearl and Garnet were also near the man, and discussing the future of the young boy. 

“I still don’t think it is a good idea. I mean who knows if you guys will be back before his school year starts.”

While they were watching the whole conversation Peridot turned to Lapis, ‘Is it normal to have a dialogue like that in the middle of a crowded square?’

“Nope. It also looks like the perfect time for us to interrupt. Hey Steven!” Lapis yelled getting everyone's attention.

“LAPIS!” the boy yelled running over to Lapis as fast as his little legs could carry him. She almost fell when Steven tackled her in a bear hug. “I missed you! I thought I would never see you again!” Steven yelled. 

Lapis bent down so she could give the boy a proper hug. “I missed you too, kiddo.”

“I want to tell you of all my-” Steven looked over to Peridot who was observing idly, “Who is this?” 

“Here's your answer to that, Greg. Lady Peridot here is the benefactor that generously donated the money to build us a new ship and allow us to buy new accommodations for the crew. She can also read and write fluently along with solve complicated math problems. She could tutor Steven for the summer,” Amethyst said. 

Four people in the square knew that Peridot’s title was a lie, but none of them thought it was a good idea to bring that up. Greg looked at Pearl frantically, “Is she really a Lady and can do all of those things?”

Pearl looked mildly put off by the lie, “Why yes. She is paying us to take her and Lapis to Homeland along with the cargo. She is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and when we told her of our money situation she fortunately donated.”

Greg looked to Peridot’s direction and walked over to her and dropped down to one knee and kissed her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my Lady.”

Peridot for her part hid her surprise well and gave him a dazzling smile that showed all of her straight white teeth. Then as he rose she gave him a small curtsy. “Yes, she is quite amazing, when Lapis was stranded dying on an island, she nursed her back to health,” Amethyst continued.

Pearl went behind Amethyst and signalled to her to stop talking about Peridot. “Really? That’s amazing,” Greg said directing the complement to Peridot. Peridot only gave him another grin and nod in return. “Why were you on the island? If you don’t mind me asking, my Lady.”

_ Ah shit, once he knows she can’t talk it will cause more questions and doubt that she can teach Steven.  _ Peridot’s face suddenly looked very distraught and looked away quickly and latched herself onto Lapis. “Sorry, she doesn’t like to talk about it. Brings up some pretty heavy things with her parents,” Lapis said making up a half lie.

Greg looked surprised, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to offend in any way. It would be an honor if you would tutor my son during the trip.” He bowed slightly in respect.

Peridot looked back at him with watery eyes and gave Greg a weak smile and a nod. “We’ll we would love to stay and chat with all of you, but we were heading to the bookstore before we found you,” Lapis said quickly so Peridot wouldn’t have to reply. 

“Remember we are leaving tomorrow at around five, so be back on the ship before then,” Garnet said speaking up.

“Understood,” Lapis said. She looked down at Steven, “I’ll see ya tomorrow then, little buddy.” She playfully ruffled his hair and gave a small goodbye. 

‘So, I’m a lady now?’ Peridot questioned playfully when they were a little ways away. 

“Apparently, Lady Peridot of the Ocean Deep. I can’t believe that Amethyst decided to lie so they would get Steven for the summer. Good job though, you did well acting like a Lady.”

‘Thank you. Why would they only get the child during the summer? Is he not Pearl’s?’ Peridot asked as they neared the book store. 

“No, he is the child of Gregory Universe and Rose Universe, formally Rose Quartz leader of the revolution,” Lapis told her.

If Peridot looked impressed she didn’t show it. Instead she looked thoughtful. ‘What dangers are there on the ship that causes Gregory alarm? It has been pretty quiet since we’ve been on.’

“Usually it’s not. Storms, pirates, and Homeland ships roam the seas making it dangerous. A lot of other thing too, including all the different sea monsters.”

‘Like mermaids?’ Peridot asked.

Lapis almost froze, “I’ve never seen another mermaid in my time at sea. I don’t think anyone else has either, they're kinda rare nowadays.” 

They didn’t have time to dive into the conversation further because they made it to the book store and walked in. Inside were many bookshelves that were filled to the brim and in the middle of the store was a small dark wood desk with a woman sitting at it reading. The woman didn’t look up as they approached, so the pair quietly made their way around the store looking for books Peridot would like. 

“You can only get a few, we still need some money,” Lapis whispered. 

Peridot frowned, but nodded anyway. She pulled out a high grade anatomy book, a history book that went back way before the war, and one on sign language. They went to the counter and the woman finally peered up at them and glanced at the books. “One gold, one silver, three bronze,” she stated. 

Lapis handed over the money, received her change, and they left quickly. She let Peridot carry the lighter set of clothes and she carried the heavy books. “We still have enough time and money to go to the fish market to get something to eat tonight.”  

They slowly made their way back to the market where the catcalling was still just as bad as it was earlier. Lapis decided to stop at the first fish vender they saw that had good sized stock. “Alright, Peri, what do you want to eat tonight?” Lapis asked.

‘I do not need to eat for another few days, you choose,’ Peridot replied evenly.

“No, you should choose something you want to eat. If you don’t want it now then you can save it for later.”

Peridot decided to pick out an eel and a couple of squids and Lapis chose a herring. With minimal interaction she quickly paid the man and left. _Honestly, the most surprising part of this transaction was that Peridot didn’t fight that guy when he hit on me._ When they passed a fruit stand Lapis bought two apples. “These are pretty good. I think you’ll like them,” Lapis told Peridot when she gave her a questioning look. 

They finally made it back down to the lower hull of the ship and to the kitchen once more. “I’m going to start cooking my herring, can you set up for me?” Lapis asked.

Peridot nodded and Lapis made herself busy preparing the food. She managed to start the fire and gut her herring, and from the corner of her eye she could see Peridot setting up a table in the next room over.  _ This is nice. It feels so domestic.  _ She let out a content sigh.  _ Maybe one day we could be doing this in our own house.  _

Lapis smiled at the thought and continued to chop up pieces of the fish and place it in a hot pan.  _ Now back to my thoughts from earlier. I should talk to someone about our relationship, preferably someone who has had an actual good relationship. Ruby and Sapphire would probably be the best options. Alright, now what will I ask them? How to tell if someone likes you? No, that sounds too childish.  _

She felt a tug on her shoulder and looked over to Peridot who was pointing at the pan of now burning fish. “Shit!” Lapis hastily stirred the fish and put it on a plate. “It’s a little burnt, but it’ll do.”

They sat down at the table so that they were facing each other. Lapis had her cut herring, an apple, and some water while Peridot had the other apple, water, and two squids. It was a scenario that was new and somewhat scary to Lapis: two adults sitting at a table eating dinner and having a pleasant conversation.  _ It’s odd, but it’s nice.  _

‘So, are all human settlements like this?’

“No, this one is much newer and more carefully laid out. You’ll see when we get to Homeland.” Sure, she had dinners at the orphanage when she was younger, but they were more of a fight to keep the meager rations of food you were given. 

‘What was the lady at the dress shop?”

“I’m honestly not sure. She may have been a combination of magical creatures or some sort of bug person.” Of course she had one on one dinners with Jasper, but they were usually filled with either shouting or tense silence. 

‘It is amazing to me that your society can support so many males. There is almost an even ratio.’

“Ya, it’s amazing that more of them don’t get shot with their big mouths.” The meals on this very ship were usually filled with flirting and other merriment, but always lacked something. 

Peridot looked at her almost shyly, ‘I really enjoy all of this. Being alone in my cave is nothing compared to being here on this ship with you.’

Lapis knew a light blush was on her face. “I know what you mean. I enjoying being here with you too.” The ones she experienced by herself out in the open ocean while drowning herself in drink were nothing compared to the questions and pleasantries she exchanges with Peridot. She imagined that dinner with Peridot was similar to what couples without kids experience. Perhaps, what a normal family felt like, and that thought made her chest feel warm with a heat not associated with sex. She knew she was stupidly smiling throughout the meal. 

They finished dinner, cleaned up, and got ready for sleep. Lapis open their new clothes bag and handed Peridot her old skirt. She dug around the bag and found a couple extra pieces of cloth and a small note. Peridot looked at her with a tilted head, ‘What does it say?’ 

“Here’s a small gift for you two. Enjoy your new life and yourselves. From Madam Fluorite.” Lapis looked at some of the smaller pieces. Two were a plain looking grey/black color and the other two were blue and green respectively, somewhat nicely decorated with lace and- _ oh.  _ “So much for being a sweet innocent old lady,” she grumbled.

‘What?’ Peridot asked.

“Nothing, just put this on under your dress, it’s more proper wear for Ladies,” Lapis said handing Peridot one of the plain ones. 

With her skirt changed, feet off, and glasses removed Peridot took her now usual position on top of their sleeping clothes. “Have a good time today?” Lapis asked as she went into her open arms.

‘Lots. I can not wait to read those books later. The apple that I had tonight was pretty good too. Do you think that we could go back to the donut shop tomorrow?’ Peridot asked.

Lapis gave a little laugh, “Ya, but first we should buy more actual food from the market before spending the rest of our money on sugar.” 

Peridot gave her a little pout, which Lapis found adorable.  _ Figures the types of human food she would like are high in sugar.  _ Lapis yawned and fell asleep to the feeling of Peridot combing her hair gently. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite chapters so far. I'm a little sad that there is only one more chapter on land, but I promise it will be an exciting one!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Lapis woke up in the morning again wrapped up in Peridot’s arms, but this time she seemed to have beaten Peridot to consciousness. _She must have been really tired. I wonder why._ She mentally shrugged and decided to snuggle back into Peri and go back to sleep. As she did Lapis noticed a significant weight on her back. _Huh? That’s odd. Peri’s hands aren't that heavy._

When she shifted again Lapis felt the weight slip off her back and land on the floor with a semi loud thud. She peered over and saw the large history book they bought yesterday on the floor. Lapis’ face broke out into a huge grin which was the first thing that Peridot saw when her eyes fluttered open from the sound. “Up to some late night reading, Peri?” Lapis asked teasingly.

Peridot let out a soundless yawn and groan. ‘I can’t help it! Your history is just so interesting.’

“Really? I always thought it was boring enough to put me to sleep,” Lapis said. When ever she bothered to go to school history was always her least favorite subject. _Why learn about the past when you need to survive in the present?_

‘My species has no written history like this or any writing at all. But you, you humans can keep records and improve on each other’s work and even look back on past mistakes! I think that’s quiet amazing,’ Peridot mouthed.

“I guess I never thought about it like that,” Lapis said. Peridot then tried to pull Lapis up towards her more and go back to sleep. “Hey, you aren’t allowed to go back to sleep, we only have a couple more hours left to be on land.”

‘But I’m tired,’ Peridot countered closing her eyes.

Lapis wiggled one arm out of her hold and stroked her hair. “I don’t know. It’s your own fault that you stayed up late to read,” Lapis said teasingly.

Peridot relaxed into Lapis’ touch. ‘But Pearl will probably need me to help her navigate tonight,’ she complained.

“Alright, you can sleep for a little while longer.” Lapis continued to move her hand through Peridot’s hair similar to the way the other woman did during one of Lapis’ nightmares. For a while Lapis watched her sleep and notice that she looked relaxed, but not completely. Like she was ready to spring up at any time and either flee or attack. No matter how much Lapis stroked or how relaxed she tried to make Peridot, she never seemed to fully be asleep.

Lapis just sat for a while, looking at Peridot and not thinking of much until the other woman’s eyes popped open and instantly moved her head to the entrance of their room. She was going to ask Peridot about her startling display until she saw a medium sized rat scurry into her view and then away to another part of the ship.

Peridot then turned back into her original position and as she looked at Lapis, she saw Peridot’s pupils expand from a pinprick to a ink droplet. ‘Sorry, if I woke you,’ Peridot mouthed. She still looked tired even though she had just woken up from a pretty long nap.

“I didn’t go back to sleep. I was just watching you. How did you know that the rat was about to appear?” Lapis asked.

‘I felt it. It is always good to be alert of your surroundings,’ Peridot answered as she stretched. ‘I have gotten enough rest. Let’s go on land and obtain some food.’

Lapis got up and carefully changed into her new outfit while Peridot changed into hers. After she did so Lapis threw her old clothes into the pile of bedding. _Eh, I’ll just take my jacket off at night when we sleep. Peri and I will get a full wardrobe once we’re established somewhere._ Then she noticed that Peridot was staring at her with a small smile on her face. Lapis gave her a playful smile of her own, “Like what you see, Peri?”

‘Very much,’ Peridot said reaching out. One hand on the arm of Lapis’ blue jacket and the other stroked her face lightly, ‘You are very pretty.’  

“I-um, Thanks,” Lapis said nervously. She became even more nervous when Peridot wrapped her arms around her in a light hug and laid her head on Lapis’ chest. _This-this is okay, Lapis. Just calm down. This is okay and this is nice, even if it isn’t part of one of our more affectionate routines._ It took a minute, but Lapis also wrapped her arms around Peridot’s body.

They stayed in one spot and hugged each other for a while, swaying slightly to music neither could here until Peridot lifted her head. ‘We should probably get going.’

Lapis nodded. _It’s a bit of a shame. The ship won’t be this quiet or this private ever again while we’re on board._ They hooked arms once more and stepped off the ship right when a clock sounded giving off two chimes. “We only have two hours until we need to get back on the ship. Not much time for walking today.”

‘That’s fine. I think I’ve seen enough of this place and interacted with enough unfavorable people.’

Lapis could feel the stares and the looks of not only the merchants today, but some of the townsfolk as well. Their clothes and their gate painted them to be of a higher class then you would normally find so close to a cheap fish market. Lapis in her almost captain garb with a sword and a hidden pistol at her hilt, and Peridot the fair maiden who she was escorting around town. _Kinda wish I bought a hat to complete the look. Oh well, I’m not a captain anyway._

They walked up to the same vendor who they bought from yesterday who looked more nervous now that they looked more powerful. With the confidence boost and the sharpness of a new day and full nights sleep Lapis got a better price on the fish today then she got yesterday. She grinned and held up their bag of fresh fish to Peridot as they left the stall.

Peridot gave her a soundless laugh, ‘Yes, you are a very good provider.’

They finally made their way to the donut shop and were greeted by the cheerful woman once more. “Welcome to the-oh! Welcome back! How have you two been?” Sadie asked. She eyed them and their new clothes like the rest of the town people. Lars was leaning against a cabinet like before and nodded at them as they came in.

“Pretty good. As you can see we got some new cloth. It’s our last day here and we decided to come back to your wonderful establishment.”  

“That’s a shame! What can I get for you?” Sadie asked.

“What would you recommend for us today?” Lapis asked.

“The donuts of course! I would also recommend the blueberry and raspberry pie. It’s different, but it is sweet and the crust is flaky and just a tad burnt to add a pinch of flavor,” Sadie said with bounce.

“Damn, you’re a pretty good saleswomen I think that we’ll take-”

Suddenly the door slammed open and what looked like a drunk man stumbled inside the store. He wore raggedy old clothes that didn’t fit, had sunken in bloodshot eyes, and shaggy grey hair. “Hey doll, can you get me my usual three donuts to go?” the man asked.

 _Oof that guy is probably what I was after a rough night. Glad to be sober._ Sadie suddenly looked very nervous and Lars looked away. “Of course I will sir, but I will need a moment because I was helping the ladies in front of you before you came in, so you will have to wait.”

He narrowed his eyes, “Really? You’re going to say that to me? Your best customer?”

Sadie bit her lip and looked between them and the men, “Well, they were here before you and-”

The man slammed his fist down on the counter, “I WANT MY FOOD YOU FUCKING MONSTER!” Now the man looked very angry as if he was about to harm Sadie, who looked very timid and scared behind the counter.

Lapis looked around quickly and found that Lars was scared frozen by the wall he was leaning on. Next to her she saw that Peridot was tense and ready to jump the man. “Hey buddy, I think that you should calm down,” Lapis said trying to diffuse the situation.

The man looked at her with hate filled eyes, “I think you should mind your own damn business.” Then he turned his attention back to Sadie, “I thought I told you to get me my donuts,” he growled.

Lapis looked at the scared posture of both Sadie and Lars and decided she had enough, “Pal, I think you need to leave.” Lapis said this and put a hand on the man’s shoulder with a bit of force.

He quickly moved so that her hand dropped. “What you actually like these stupid monsters? Pity that more and more of us are going to their side.”

“Dude, you do realize that she is the one making your food, right?” Lapis asked with a raised brow.

“You’re just as disgusting as that bitch is,” the man sneered.

 _Alright this has gone on long enough._ Lapis and Peridot gave each other an annoyed sideways glance. “I would take that back, friend,” Lapis said with a threatening lit.

Now the man turned completely toward them, “Or what?”

 _Alright mother fucker, you asked for it._ Her instincts from her old street days came back leading her to grab the man’s head and smash it on the counter a few times before letting him stand and punching him in the stomach. His reflexes seemed slow and he was disoriented from the strong blows causing him to stumble a bit.

She was about to punch him more when Peridot picked him up with her powers so that he was suspended a few inches off the ground. He was immobilized in the air and was making small gurgling noises as if he couldn’t breathe. Peridot looked at Lapis, ‘You shouldn’t touch something like this, it’s dirty.’

Lapis smiled not only at the comment, but at the action of opening the door without touching it and Peridot throwing him outside and shutting the door firmly. Lapis turned back to the two young adults at the counter, “Are you two alright?”

“Why-why did you do that?” Sadie asked with tears in her eyes.

“He was harassing you and getting violent. What? You not allowed to throw people out of your store anymore? Hell, we almost got shot in the restaurant next to this one two days ago.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Lars said shakily, “Sadie is the one working and he is a human.”

“So the law is with him?” Lapis asked.

“He’ll probably go to the police on you two and get your friend locked up for using an unnatural advantage over him,” Sadie said looking down. “I’m sorry you’re going to get in trouble over me. He’s usually not that bad.”

Lapis and Peridot both gave her a concerned look, “He comes here a lot?”

“Yes,” she sniffed. “But, like I said, he’s usually more friendly.”

“No he’s not!” Lars yelled, “He is always making passes at you and when you don’t respond the way he wants he gets angry!” Lars looked like he was ready to cry and showed a level of concern for his co-worker that made Lapis understand their relationship a bit more. _He always seemed so unemotional and uncaring before._  

The conversation that Lapis had with Lars a few days ago came back like a train, when he said that humans could get away with anything. _No wonder she looked so nervous when he walked in. I can only imagine what he’s been doing to her even when he’s not here._ “Sadie,” Lapis said carefully.

“Yes, Miss?” Sadie said trying to hold back more tears.

“Just get us two donuts and that pie you were trying to sell us before. We’ll handle anything that comes our way. Our ship leaves in an hour or so, and before we go we’ll make sure that this is sorted out okay?” Lapis said calmly.

“Okay,” Sadie sniffed.

She was quick to get back with their order and Lapis and Peridot gave her the rest of the gold coins that they had. “Take some of this money for yourself, both of you, and get yourselves something to protect yourselves with. A dog, a gun, anything that you can get legally,” Lapis told them sternly.

Sadie came out from behind the counter and squeezed Peridot and Lapis together in a hug, “Thank you so much, for everything.”

“It’s no problem. Just, keep safe,” Lapis said for the both of them.

Even Lars finally moved from his place and walked up to the both of them and offered his hand. “Make sure you keep that handshake firm along with your eye contact, boy,” Lapis said to him.

He swallowed, “Yes, ma’am.” He looked somewhat embarrassed so Peridot gave him a nice smile and a pat on the back which seemed to calm his nerves.

They bid both of them a sad farewell and a happy life as they went outside and sat down to eat their donuts. ‘How long before the law enforcers get here?’ Peridot asked.

“Not sure, but if they aren’t here in a couple minutes I think we should find the police station and explain the situation before Sadie gets in trouble,” Lapis replied. They sat for a few minutes until they heard the clock give a chime. They could see it from where they were sitting and it read half past three. “Alright, time to go find the police station.” Lapis helped Peridot up and held all of their bought items for the day.

By the time they walked a couple feet from the store a group of big men were approaching them. Most looked like big thugs, but others were in officer uniforms, and one was in a suit. The one in the suit was walking beside the (now limping) man from before, “There they are! The one in green is the one who broke the law!”

It seemed like within a second they were surrounded and other people in the town stopped to watch what was happening. “Hello, I think there is a bit of misunderstanding here,” Lapis started.

The man in the suit looked like he was undressing them with his eyes and after a moment he looked up and met Lapis’ eyes. “Oh, we’re you two not the ones who used unnecessary force on this gentleman here?” the man asked with charm, though his eyes tended to wonder a bit lower.

“No, we kicked the shit out of him. But, I think the mistake is with your law system here. I mean my friend and I almost got shot the other day by a restaurant owner and no one batted an eye, but this guy who was threatening and harassing a young girl is within the law?” Lapis asked.

“Well, I think that the laws are quite fair. No magical creature is allowed to use an unfair power or advantage against a human. It’s only to keep things civil,” the man finished trying to be convincing.

“Really? To me it sounds like a way to oppress people. Who the hell came up with that?”

“Well, I did of course. You must not know who I am. I’m the mayor of this fine town, Mayor Dewey,” he said proudly. He was still trying to lay charm on them by subtly flirting and trying to use his lawyer like tone.

“You seem to suck some serious cock at this job, buddy. You’re trying to oppress a majority of people which won’t be too great when the next election comes,” Lapis said evenly.

By this point a good crowd of spectators have gathered around them and Mayor Dewey’s eye started to twitch and he visibly started to sweat. “No need to be so foul mouthed little lady, besides we’re here about your friend who decided to lift this man up against his will and fling him out of a store. That’s not only breaking monster law, but she needs to be charged with assault.”

“I wonder how the human and her mermaid companion will get out of this one,” a voice said from the crowd.

Lapis glanced over and saw Aquamarine who was sitting on the shoulder of one of the Topaz women who tried to shush her quickly. _Thanks little pixie fucker._ The tone of the gathering changed like it did days ago on the boat when they found out Peridot was a mermaid. Some people backed away into stores and the men surrounding them reached for their respective weapons.

“Is that true Miss?” Dewey asked. He now looked more nervous at the pair as did most of the men.

“You don’t need to know,” Lapis said putting her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Dewey said gesturing to Peridot. When Lapis glanced behind her she saw that Peridot was in the same spot as she was in the beginning of the conversation which was safely behind her. Now with all eyes on her she turned her head to look at all of the people surrounding them most likely to survey the situation. “Miss, we need an answer.”

Peridot stepped forward to be in front of Lapis and nodded slowly in confirmation. At the motion many of the men surrounding them pulled out their swords or went to jump on them. Fortunately, all Peridot had to do was raise and lower her hand forcefully and all of the people fell to the ground.

Most fell to what looked like a bowing position and Peridot calmly walked up to the mayor who drew a small handgun from his jacket. “I’ll-I’ll do it. I’ll shot you now!” Dewey yelled. Peridot with a neutral face kept advancing to him calmly. She was little more than a arms length away from him when she stopped moving forward the gun pointing straight at her chest.

“What are you waiting for, Mayor?” the shaggy man asked, “Shoot that monster!” Dewey’s gun was shaking with him and his finger was on the trigger pushing it to the point where he would only need to put minimal force on it to fire. Very slowly Peridot raised her hand to move Dewey’s arm up farther so that the barrel of the gun was now pointing at her head. The space between her and death seemed to be only an inch or two away.

Everyone was frozen except for Dewey’s continually twitching finger. “Get away from me, monster!” Dewey yelled.

“Peridot I think that you should move back,” Lapis said faintly. Peridot glanced back at her and gave Lapis a soft smile and then she closed her eyes, turned back to Dewey, and rested her forehead on the opening of the gun.

**BOOM**

“Peridot!” Lapis yelled. Gasps and screams were heard all around and people shielded their eyes or looked away. Unlike in Lapis’ dreams of Peridot’s death her body did not slump down to the ground, nor was her head a bloody pulpy mess. Instead, she lifted her head from the gun and stood up straighter which caused a small bullet to fall from it’s barrel to the ground with a clink.

“I-I’m sorry Miss. I was just scared that you would-”

Dewey didn’t get to finish his sentence because Peridot slapped the gun out of his hand so that it fell to the ground and then she stopped on it so hard with one of her metal feet that it shattered on the ground. Then she lightly put a hand on Dewey’s chest to urge him to move out of the way. He did along with the shaggy man fear present in both of their eyes.

Peridot held out her arm and made a motion with her head to tell Lapis to come near her. Once she did they locked arms and began to walk into the parting crowd back to the ship passing by many uneasy people who kept their heads down. Lapis looked around the crowd with wariness in case someone wanted to attack them until Peridot turned to her. ‘Lapis, you shouldn’t show how worried you are, we are the alphas here now.’

 _She does have the confidence of one._ Peridot walked through the crowd with a puffed up chest and her head raised high. Her face was forward, but Lapis could see that her eyes were also scanning the crowd for threats, only in a more dignified manner. _She’s just radiating power and control, even if she didn’t hurt anyone._

They made it back to the ship right as the clock chimed four times and some of the crew members who were already on board greeted them. They were about to go below deck when Skinny grabbed them, “Hey, you might as well stay up here. Pearl usually gives announcements before we leave.”

“Thanks, Skinny,” Lapis replied politely.

“No problem. You guys look great by the way,” she said with a feisty grin.

Lapis nodded and took Peridot to the back of the crowd on deck so they could sit down on a box that she assumed contained new trading materials. “Ah, feels good to sit down,” Lapis said.

‘Yes,’ Peridot mouthed. She sighed and suddenly looked very tired, ‘Feels good to not have to use my powers. Wake me when Pearl starts to talk.’ She put her head on Lapis’ shoulder and closed her eyes.

Lapis put an arm around her to keep her stable and watched her sleep once more. She looked more relaxed than she did this morning, but Peridot still looked like she was readying to jump up at any moment. Her head moved as more people entered the ship, but none of them caused her to open her eyes until Lavender stepped on board. The huge woman looked around and frowned when she saw Lapis and Peridot, but did not approach them.

“Still can’t relax, Peri?” Lapis asked as the last of the crew members boarded.

‘Not when something interesting is near,’ Peridot responded. Her eyes never left Lavender’s form even when she was talking to Lapis. ‘I wonder if they went after Sadie and Lars after we left.’

Lapis suddenly had a queasy feeling. _We didn’t clear anything up. They can blame Sadie for everything. I really do hope that they do okay in the future._ “Well, I doubt they messed with any more monsters today, but we are probably the reason why more monster control legislation will be passed soon,” Lapis said unhappily. _I know how this shit works. The people in charge get scared and pass more laws to oppress a group which makes a group unhappy which causes more uprisings causing the loop to go on._

‘Or I have shown the others that they don’t have to be ruled by the humans anymore,’ Peridot mouthed. She looked particularly angry when she mouthed the word human.

“Wow Peri, don’t like humans anymore?” Lapis asked surprised. _She’s usually pretty unbiased._    

Her answer was the only time that Peridot took her eyes off of Lavender, ‘I have no preference for any creatures. It is only a matter of time before the others realize that their Leaders are no longer what’s best for the pack.’

Pearl walked to the upper part of the ship along with Steven and cleared her throat, “Alright quiet down. I need to give some announcements before we leave. For my first announcement: Steven is going to be travelling with us for the summer.”

“Hi Guys!” Steven yelled. A chorus of hellos and greetings met his ears making him smile wider.

“Now, with Steven here I would like to say that some nights can not be dedicated to partying so Steven can get some sleep.”

Groans were heard through the crowd. “How are we supposed to actually fall asleep without a party or copious amount of alcohol?!” someone yelled.

“As a surprise, I have new blankets and some pillows for everyone to use at night, so hopefully you guys can get a better night sleep,” Pearl said with a smile. The general consensus of the crowd seemed to shift a bit to somewhat pleased before she moved on. “Now, many of you may have noticed that the ship still isn’t in the best condition.”

“Ya, it still looks like shit!” Sharkey yelled.

“Thank you, Sharkey,” Pearl said with a annoyed lit. “Along with the money for the sleeping materials, we have earned and been given enough money to actually buy a new ship!” Everyone cheered at the information. “Unfortunately, this ship would not been done for another year and a half, so we will have to be very careful until then. More repairs will have to be done and more time will have to be dedicated to those repairs.”

Everyone grumbled, and with that Pearl went on talking about their new shipments and how she was very proud of everyone for not being sent to jail or getting into any fights this time. She was about to tell the crowd to begin disembarkment when Lavender spoke up, “Captain why is that animal in the back out of its cage?”

A hush fell over everyone and waited for Pearl’s response. “Lady Peridot is allowed to move around the ship as she pleases. That is all I’m saying on the matter. Get ready to throw over the ropes!” Pearl yelled with authority.

Lapis helped adjust the sails and get the boat ready for departure as Peridot went to go talk to Pearl and Steven. After they were safely away from the dock and in the small channel that lead out to the sea Carnelian came up to her along with some of the crew members who were less accepting of Peridot. “Hey, is it true what Pearl said? That Peridot is actually a Lady?” Carnelian asked.

 _Oh shit, this is actually going to become a full blown lie that we’re going to have to keep up._ “Pearl did say that,” Lapis answered not looking at them pretending as if it was no big deal. _Pearl is going to be the one on the hook for this now._

“Told ya,” Carnelian smugly said to the rest of the crew.

Some of them only grumbled and looked annoyed while others looked semi scared with the new information. When they were at dinner later that night the same feeling was still there with the crew treating Peridot similarly how they would Sapphire. Thankfully, no one asked her any questions about how she became a Lady or what it was like.

Their seating at the table had also been promoted so they were near the front. Pearl at the head with Garnet, Sapphire, Ruby, and Peridot on her right and Steven, Amethyst, and Lapis on her left. Lapis looked around the table at all the smiling faces joking with one another and then she turned to the people near her. Ruby and Sapphire were flirting and talking to each other and even their usually quiet adoptive daughter was speaking a lot and making jokes at their expense.

Pearl and Amethyst flirted too (only a bit milder and less sexual), until Steven would point it out which caused Pearl to flush with embarrassment. Steven talked about what he did during the time when they were away and expressed how happy he was to finally get out of the town. He also talked a lot about a girl that he was friends with named Connie, who had the markings of a tiger. Mostly, he spoke of their adventures and how her mother is a gifted healer and how great she is.

“Aw, Stevens growing up, he already has his first crush!” Amethyst yelled happily.

His face became very red, “No I don’t! We’re just friends.”

“Sure little buddy,” Lapis said speaking up. “Look at you, you blush just like Pearl,” she added.

The people around them who heard the conversation laughed at Pearl and Steven’s shared faces of annoyance and embarrassment respectively. _I wonder if this is how Pearl felt when she finally got out of slavery. Warm and fuzzy and finally okay with her position in life._ For a little while Lapis watched Peridot from across the table with a delicate smile on her face.

When Peridot finally noticed that Lapis was watching her, she returned the expression effortlessly and raised a water filled glass to her companion. Lapis raised her own glass of water and clinked her glass with Peridot. No one noticed their little interaction over the boisterous atmosphere.

Later when dinner was done Steven, Pearl and Peridot went upstairs to Pearl’s quarters. Peridot opened their room for her, ‘I’ll be back down in a bit.’

“Have a good time,” Lapis said with a wave. To her surprise there was no big party like there usually was, but most of the crew members just talked quietly and got ready for bed. _Huh, this is actually a nice change in pace. I can see why Pearl prefers the quiet and relaxed atmosphere over the noise and partying._

Lapis slipped through the bars of the semi opening, took off her coat, and picked up Peridot’s history book. She was getting into the development of the Homeland’s law making systems when she heard a soft clearing of the throat. “Hey, just thought I would stop by and give both of you a blanket and a pillow,” Amethyst said.

“Thanks, Ame,” Lapis said taking them. “How was your time on land?”

Amethyst gave her a big bright smile, “It was great! Seeing Greg is always fun and Pearl, Garnet, and I spent a lot of time with Steven. Was yours good?”

“Ya, it was pretty great. Lots of fun and food. I guess your a queen now, huh? You made Peridot a Lady,” Lapis said quietly.

“Yep, that’s me, Queen Amethyst of the seas and the booze that rock them,” Amethyst said with a laugh. Then she tilted her head to look at the item in Lapis’ hand, “What are you reading?” Amethyst asked.

“Oh, would you like to see it? It’s a history book of the four Queens before the war. Peridot got me into it and right now I’m reading the part of how they decided to create the law system,” Lapis explained. She tired to give Amethyst the book, but she frowned and pushed the book away.

“Can’t read remember?” Amethyst said looking away.

Now Lapis frowned. _Right, I forgot._ “That’s okay, Ame. Why don’t I read it out loud to you for a bit?”

“I don’t know. I think History is a pretty boring subject,” Amethyst said, her eyes wet and a small grin on her face.

“Well, I’ll be able to put you to sleep then,” Lapis said shooting the grin right back at her.

It didn’t take very long for Amethyst to fall asleep against the cell, pillow under her head, and Lapis draped a blanket over her. It took another couple of hours for Peridot to come back down and by the time she did Lapis’ eyes hurt from the intense reading. Lapis looked up as Peridot entered, ‘Up to some late night reading?’

“What can I say? You inspired me.”

Peridot changed out of her clothes and laid down on the clothes pile they use for sheets and their new pillow. Then she sat up,  ‘Are you okay with still being on top or would you like to sleep on the pillow?’ Peridot asked.

Lapis pushed her back down on the bench lightly so that she was hovering on top of her. She slowly willed herself down to Peridot ear and playfully whispered, “Why would I need that pillow when I have one right here?” Then she slid herself down so that her head was on Peridot’s chest, and she could hear her sped up heartbeat.

Peridot wrapped her arms around Lapis once more holding her securely. _I would have never thought the safest I would feel is when I was in someone's arms behind metal bars._ They both sighed and finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone liked these calmish chapters because to get to Homeland it's going to be somewhat like Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War because I didn't balance out upcoming events.


	19. Human Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Peridot's thoughts

While she didn't want to leave Lapis downstairs with Lavender prowling around, Peridot knew she had to go up with Pearl and Steven. So, she decided to open the bars of their room only enough for Lapis or anyone smaller to enter. ‘I’ll be back down in a bit,’ Peridot told Lapis.

When she got to the deck Peridot looked up and noticed that the glowing orbs above were covered with a layer of water in the form of puffy dark clouds. She followed Pearl and Steven into the captain’s room and out of the brisk early summer weather. Pearl started to rummage and move about the cabin to gather the materials that they hadn’t used together in some days. _She’s already tore through the room that I organized for her. Tsk._ Peridot and the little boy followed Pearl around and helped her carry things that she handed them.

Peridot noticed that sometimes Steven would look at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, but when she looked back at him, he would look away quickly and nervously. _One of the few times I wish I could physically speak. It would make first interactions much easier._ They moved to the place outside where she and Pearl usually looked at maps, charts, and took measurements. The sky was still blanketed, the air still brisk, but the night was unusually still and quiet. _No party below deck tonight._  

“While I don’t think that we can use the stars tonight, look what I acquired during our time on land,” Pearl said. She pulled out a brand new compass that looked to be in much better shape than the old one. “It’s the latest model and should be more precise than the last!”

Peridot tuned her out as she went on to explain the functions and craftsmanship of the item with clear enthusiasm and vigor. _I must have forgotten to tell her that I was the cause of the breakage of the old device._ She tapped Pearl on the shoulder and moved around a small piece of metal to demonstrate that she was the one who was messing with the compass. ‘My apologies Pearl, I should have told you sooner,’ Peridot wrote.

Pearl’s happiness deflated slightly, “It’s alright. Does this mean that this compass will be worthless like the last?”

‘No, but if you want to use it then I won’t be able to use my powers, which means I won’t be able to walk,’ Peridot explained. _One of the many times where I wish I still had my normal functioning limbs._

“Oh.” Pearl’s expression was a mix of worry, sympathy, and mild distress with the new information. “Well, we will just have to wait for the sky to clear to be able to navigate. Truly like the sailors of long ago.”

Peridot frowned, ‘Why don’t Steven and I sit here and discuss his curriculum and you can use the compass to navigate.’

Pearl thought for a moment, “That sounds good, but you two should go back inside to do so. It’s a bit chilly out here tonight and Steven, you need to get ready for bed soon.”

‘Are you sure?’ Peridot asked.

“I don’t want you to be out here all by yourself!” Steven exclaimed. His eyes were large and like the stars above as he looked at her, trying to sway her mind.

His tactic was successful because Pearl smiled and said, “You two can stay out here for a little while, but I want you in bed in less than two hours.”

Steven ran back into the cabin and brought up some books that ranged from mathematics to history to multiple novels. ‘So Steven,’ Peridot wrote, ‘what are the things that you are learning about?’ To Peridot’s immediate delight he could already read, and he seemed to be better than the crew members who had the same skill. He also didn’t question why she couldn’t speak which Peridot was grateful for. _I assume Pearl already told him a few things._

“At school we learn a lot of things like math, history, english, and all kinds of sciences!” Steven yelled happily.

Peridot smiled. _It’s been a very long time since I’ve been around a child. It’s very nice._ ‘Are you doing well in all of your classes?’ Peridot wrote. _I may not know much about school, but I can make assumptions based on my observations._

Steven suddenly looked embarrassed and turned away, “Umm...I’m really good at some of the sciences and I love writing, but my teacher says that I need help organizing my thoughts and completing some of the more complicated math problems.”

‘Then we will focus on those things. Now, Pearl also said that you should learn the ways of a ship, so during the day what would you like to do first?’

“Learn the ways of the ship?” Steven asked slightly disappointed.

Peridot tilted her head, ‘Do you not want to one day be the captain of this ship?’ _That was the impression I received from their conversation Lapis and I heard with Gregory._

“Not really…”

‘What do you like?’

Steven’s eye lit up, “I really like rocks!”

 _Exactly something a young child would say._ ‘Alright. What do you like about rocks?’

“I like to go out and find them and then go to the library and find out which ones they are. But did you know that now geologists can identify them because they are made of different stuff? It’s called chemistry! And I really enjoy trying to build stuff with them too. Connie helps me a lot with that,” Steven said at a fast pace. He only seemed to get more bouncy and happy with the mention of his best friend back home.

Peridot had to think for a moment before writing down a reply. _This is a lot of information I will need to analyze later._ ‘So, you really like working with rocks?’

“Yes!” Steven went on to tell her more about rocks that Peridot found very interesting because she never had any books or information on them. Eventually the boy started to slow down and slump over and he actually fell asleep while Peridot was listening intently. _He fell asleep right on the deck when he was speaking. How precious._

During the whole one sided conversation Peridot never stopped smiling at the boy’s endless earnest eagerness for something that she never really considered valuable or interesting. _I’ve only ever considered one gemstone fascinating, and that was only recently._ She turned her head to look at Pearl who was mumbling to herself and looming over a pile of maps. So, Peridot crumbled up a piece of used paper and threw it at the woman to gain her attention.

It didn’t hit Pearl, but it caused her to look up, “Yes, Peridot?”

Peridot pointed to Steven and then to her feet and then to the stairs.

When Pearl looked at Steven’s sleeping form her face morphed into one that Peridot remembered on her own mother having when she was proud of the life she created. “I guess he was more tired than I thought.”

Peridot nodded and rose from the ground then she used her powers to gently lift Steven into her arms and began to walk downstairs swaying slightly to keep with the rocking of the ship. She slowly entered the cabin and tucked him into the right side of Pearl’s large bed and waited a moment to make sure that he was comfortable and fast asleep. On her way out Peridot grabbed a blanket and softly closed the door to not wake Steven.

Back on the deck, Pearl was still toiling away with her maps when Peridot threw the blanket over her. With that Pearl looked up to her, “Thank you for the blanket, and for taking Steven down, of course.”

‘He is a very happy child, isn’t he?’

“Oh yes. I’m glad we got him for the summer again. I understand Greg’s worries, but I miss him so much when we are traveling and when we do go to land I only see him for a couple days.”

‘Does he have a surrogate mother back on land?’ Peridot asked.

Pearl suddenly looked very uneasy, “No, Greg never got remarried. When Steven was younger we often stayed for longer periods of time, but we really need the money so we have to travel more to trade.”

 _I assume that she is the primary maternal figure in his life._ ‘What do you think of him waking up at eight to eat and get ready for the day, and at nine and studying with me until two so he has five hours with me? Afterwards, he works on learning the various odds and ends of the ship.’

“That sounds good. I knew that he likes rocks and working with them, but I always thought that he would want to command a ship like his mother. Though, I suppose that being a geologist or a stone mason would be a good career path. But, I still want him to learn how to fix things and be efficient round a ship just in case he needs the skills one day.”

‘I understand that you work for money to buy things, so what does his father do?’

Now Pearl looked annoyed, “He used to be a professional lute player who didn’t make any money until a couple years ago. During that time he became a horse and carriage washer, and while that is a good enough career, I want something better for Steven.”

 _This species is so odd. Pearl is not the mother of the fingerling, but she still acts it, and she is probably the main provider for the family._ ‘It is only natural to want your offspring to succeed. He is already almost to adulthood, correct?’

“Don’t write that, you’ll make me feel old! He’s only eleven and humans are not considered adults until they’re eighteen.”  

‘Really? By 130 my species is no longer dependent on the mother and the child is considered sexually mature at 170. Humans are so odd.’

“To you perhaps,” Pearl said with a small laugh and a smile.

‘Have you made much progress?’ Peridot wrote.

“Oh yes, but I don’t think it is quiet as accurate as when we work together and navigate through stars.”

‘Hopefully there will be an open rift in the space above next cycle. Did you have a good time on land?’’

“Yes, I had a delightful time on land. It’s always nice to spend time with all my old war friends and catching up. Being on solid ground is always good too, as well as eating food that isn’t preserved or from the sea. How did you like civilization?” Pearl asked with interest.

Peridot hesitated with her answer, ‘I was very interested and impressed with your buildings and layout of the town. However, most of the beings that we met made the trip mostly unpleasant.’

“Really? It doubt it was that bad. I know the place is full of racists, but none of them should have figured out you were a magical creature…”

‘Lapis and I accidentally told one pixie I am a mermaid, and we ended up being surrounded, jumped, almost shot, and being treated illogically.’

“You two didn’t look like you were in any trouble. In fact you both look like high class people that we would see back on Homeland.”

‘We got out of any situation that was presented to us. But, I worry that when Lapis wants to settle down, I will need to leave for her to do so because of what I am. Which I can understand because anything different can be dangerous, but I have been shown that I can help with things too, right?’ Peridot looked at Pearl with glassy eyes and nervous tremor that was flowing through her body.

“You have been very helpful on this journey and to be honest I’ll be sad to see you go when we get to Homeland. You’ll both need to be careful though, in Homeland they are very scared of magical creatures. Honestly, it’s surprising that Lapis even wants to return to her old home given how many atrocities have been committed to her there.”

‘It’s all that plus your culture that I need to learn, history, personalities, emotions! It is all very confusing and hard to figure out,” Peridot wrote quickly.

“You can always ask someone to explain things to you if you’re confused, Peridot.”

‘With what voice? Only a handful of people on the ship can read and most probably wouldn’t answer the question in the depth I want them to. It’s odd, being so hesitant of the future even though things are so perfectly acceptable in the present. We have food, a competent Leader, and no one in the group is impaired, but I’m still scared.’

“I don’t know what to say to all of that Peridot…”

‘I just want Lapis to be happy, but I worry that I will not be able to provide. I just fear for many things.’

“Have you talked to Lapis about all of this?” Pearl asked tentatively.

‘I can’t let her see my fear, Pearl.’

“You need to talk to her about this Peridot, a relationship needs to be built on communication.”

Peridot fidgeted more, ‘I CAN’T. I just can’t let her know.’

“Why?”

‘Because I need to be powerful. I need to be confident. I need to be ideal.’

“Peridot, I think that Lapis will love you even if you weren’t those things.”

‘Your human concept of love is very strange also,’ Peridot wrote slowly. ‘Very strange indeed.’

“Peridot,” Pearl said slowly putting a steady hand on her shoulder, “I think you should go to sleep, you look very tired.”

It was true, she had barely gotten any sleep last night from her reading and she had used a lot of power that day. Peridot’s limbs felt colder and heavier than usual and her head felt light and airy. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow Pearl.’

She almost stumbled down the stairs and continued thinking about the things that she brought up to Pearl. _I shouldn’t have told her those things, now she will think I’m weak. Perhaps that’s good though, she won’t have any motivation to dispose of me like old Leader did. Unless of course she decides that navigating by compass is easier and more efficient and I am dreadful teacher to Steven. What would then happen to Lapis if she decides to kill me?_

On her way down the stairs she decided to stop and hold onto the handrail tightly and clutch her aching chest. _Why do I hurt with the thought of that? I know Lapis will be perfectly fine without me, she did say that she is a fully grown adult. But, will she be sad? I believe that she will be for a time and them move on eventually._

That thought sent another pang of pain through her which caused a few stray tears to slip out of her ducts. _Why do I hurt? WHY? It is only natural to move on after one has died, so you can begin to forget. But I don’t want to be forgotten! Not like my dead sire and how I surely am to my old...family? Would these humans even classify them as such?_

Somewhere along her trail of thoughts her powers unconsciously moved her feet down to the belly of the damp wooden ship to where most of the crew was. So, Peridot willed herself to stop her tears from falling just in case some of them were still awake. _All of this thinking is detrimental to my health._ She slowly made her way to her dwelling and saw Amethyst just on the outside and smiled at the blanket that Peridot was sure that someone had to put on her from it’s position.

Her grin only stretched as she slipped passed the bars and saw Lapis hunched over the history book that they bought on shore. When Lapis looked up to her Peridot chimed the same words she told her in the morning, ‘Up to some late night reading?’

Lapis looked tired and disheveled and absolutely beautiful, “What can I say? You inspire me.”

That awful ache from before was significantly dulled, as most pains did once she was around Lapis and interacting with her. Most of the time it just felt good to be around Lapis, even if it was mundane uninteresting things like changing clothing. Peridot’s heart sped up when she heard the somewhat innuendo that Lapis said to her as the blue haired woman laid down on her chest. The dull ache of pain quickly turned to a warm pulse that spread through her body as Peridot held her tighter.  

One of Peridot’s biggest problems about sleeping was that she suspects she doesn’t sleep quiet like a human does. When she was asleep she was never as calm or deeply rested as Lapis was, discluding the time she drank and passed out. Her mind was only ever half asleep and the other half alert and ready for food or danger. Which was both a blessing and a curse when a rat passed her by but distracting when she wakes from a friendly crew member who just happened to pass them.  

**Creak.**

Her neck automatically moved to the sound of the old moving board, but kept her eyes closed. Peridot had heard the person approach, but didn’t recognize the footsteps of the person in her mental bank of important sounds. She memorized the footsteps, voices, and names of the multiple crew members like she did with her old family only with them individual markings of identification were produced by sounds and dance.

Peridot decided to open her eyes to investigate the breathing the was less than a meter away from their heads. _I’m very glad my vision is spectacular in darkness._ With her vision it looked like the space was lit up so she could see Lavender’s face just staring at them intently. _I'm glad I closed the bars before we slipped away._ Peridot gave out a low hiss when Lavender’s large hands wrapped around the bars of their safe haven. This caused the woman to backup and Amethyst to shift in her sleep. At this Lavender just gave them a look of disgust and walked away.

For the rest of the night Peridot wasn’t even half asleep and clutched Lapis tightly to try to hold onto the illusion that she could keep her lovely angelfish safe.

Peridot didn’t want to let Lapis go the next day, but she knew that her expertise was needed to check the ropes of the ship, and she had to get ready for teaching Steven. Before they parted ways for the day she gently grasped Lapis’ hand and pulled her in so she could nuzzle her forehead affectionately. _I am glad that she accepts my hellos and goodbyes even if they are not human._

When Lapis left, Peridot went around their small room and got the essentials ready for Steven. She pushed up their cot so that it was flat against the wall and decided to use the other hanging bed as a desk. _I wish that I brought my books from my home up here now. They would have been very useful in Steven’s studies._ Peridot lit two lanterns and hung them above the desk which made her own eyes hurt from the brightness, but she was sure that Steven would be able to see comfortably.

Now some of other crew members were getting up and grabbing some sustenance for their breakfast and that’s when Amethyst decided to rise. “Hey P-Dot, why ya moving all your stuff around?” Amethyst asked.

Peridot mentally frowned. _How am I supposed to respond to her? She cannot read lips or read in general._ After a moments thought she decided to write Steven’s name on a piece of paper hoping that the other would recognize it.

It seemed she did because her eyes lit up, “That’s right! I kinda forgot that you were going to teach the little squirt.” Suddenly she looked very unsure of herself and looked at the ground to her feet obviously nervous.

 _This is irregular of her._ Peridot reached through the bars and put a hand on Amethyst’s shoulder to simultaneously comfort and ask her what was wrong.

“I was thinking about asking you if you could teach me too. You know along with Steven?” she asked timidly. It looked like she was on edge waiting for the answer, as if everything she had ever done lead up to this moment and if Peridot said no then it would shatter her. “Please! I at least want to learn how to read! I need to in order to be worth something to Pearl.”

The reasoning was something that Peridot could comprehend immediately and with sympathy. _She just wants to be good enough for her potential mate and not just to benefit her survival? I can provide the aid to that._ So, Peridot looked Amethyst straight in the eyes and nodded in confirmation.

“Thank you!” Amethyst yelled. This caused some of the other crew members to look over to them with interest and playful smiles.

“You better eat something Ame, because you’ll be fixing that broken banister today,” Jay called out good naturedly.

“Fiiinnnnneeee,” Amethyst groaned.   

Amethyst left Peridot’s dwelling and joined the rest of the crew after she said thank you to Peridot a few more times. When they finished breakfast they all went upstairs and that's when Peridot snagged two chairs from the dining area and put them in her room so her students would have somewhere to sit. For preparation for Amethyst’s studies, she asked Pearl if she could borrow some of her books (specifically to aid Steven to keep things undercover) to which she got a tired confirmation in response.

With everything set Peridot decided to sit down and rest against one of the walls of her chamber and fall half asleep once more. Her blurred partially formed thoughts brought her to images of things that she hadn’t thought about in quite some time. Those being swimming in tropical seas where she didn’t have to support her own body and her actually swimming with a full tail with her family happily dancing near her.

In her little fantasy her sire swam near her and Peridot was ecstatic to see the female’s calming color palette made of multiple blues that barely contrasted with her pale skin. She was always very kind to Peridot and to the rest of the members of the group, being a Leader since she was 350 years old. _It is unfortunate that I had so little time to know her._ Her mother swam into her thoughts next, the old mermaid showed her signature oxymoronic face that was both gentle and stern wrapped up in a smile. _I wonder if she is still alive, or if I have any younger half siblings._

The last family member that her mind conjured up (the last one that mattered) was little Prismarine. _I wonder if she was able to reach adulthood and what she looks like now. I also wonder if she grew to the point that she may have her own offspring that she has to protect._ Peridot had to take a deep breath to steady herself and to make the pain in her form lessen. _I never felt this way when my sire died or when I had to accept the loss of my mother and Prismarine, so why do I now?_

Peridot didn’t get a chance to answer her mental question because another creak sounded right outside the bars. Her head once again turned automatically and her eyes flew open while she gave a small hiss. The figure backed up and when her sight orbs finally adjusted to the light Peridot saw an obviously scared Steven who was frozen outside her doorway. _Excellent job Peridot, you managed to singe the ties that you bound last night._

‘Sorry,’ Peridot wrote holding up the piece of paper, ‘You may come in for your lessons.’ With a wave of an arm Steven’s expression shifted from fear to awe at the bars that seemed to move on their own. When they started the lesson Steven was focussed on the equations that she gave him. Peridot started off on what she thought was simple and then slowly moved up and found that he was smart enough to start to learn what algebra was and its many functions.

The lack of attention came in when Amethyst arrived from doing her work so Peridot had to split her time and attention on both of them. She gave Steven a problem and started Amethyst off with writing down the basic alphabet and making the sounds of the letter. Soon Peridot learned that if she was not looking over Amethyst every solitary second of learning then she would quickly become distracted in some way.  

Amethyst’s distraction would then transmit to Steven, so Peridot would have to go back and work with her. It was slow and tedious, but at the end of the five hours Peridot felt that she had made some actual progress with both of them. During the time they had to stop for more breaks than Peridot would have liked and it bothered her to some extent that Amethyst was so unfocused, but she could see how hard the small girl was actually trying.

During the start of the many days of teaching, Peridot soon found another problem after Amethyst had finally mastered the alphabet’s sounds and shapes was that she couldn’t produce the sounds from her own mouth to teach her. This caused Steven to take breaks from his studies and help Amethyst and Peridot both in the areas that they lacked.

Sometimes the teaching succumbed to the clutches of random conversation and jokes before Peridot would attempt to rangle their attention back. Other times the jokes and playfulness would dissolve into something that Peridot didn’t want to ignore for the mental health of her new charges.  

“I’m really glad to be on this ship instead of being in New Colony. Sometimes it gets so stressful there because everyone keeps comparing me to mom,” Steven admitted one day.

“That’s stupid,” Amethyst responded. “You and Rose are like, totally different people. You totally have a lot of Greg in you too.”

“I just always feel like I need to live up to her, you know. And I don’t know if I would be able to lead a new age rebellion or captain a ship against the humans like the magical creatures want me to or against the monsters like the humans want me to!” Steven shouted.

“Wow, really? Do they not realize that you’re, like, eleven, right?”

“They think that I’m part angel or something. Like mom,” Steven responded looking down. Now Peridot sat up and passed him a note which Steven read out so Amethyst could understand too. “‘I’m not sure what Rose Universe was like or really who she was as a person, but I can tell that you are growing in your own way, and I know that I, Pearl, and many others are proud of who you’re becoming. You shouldn’t need to try to be someone you’re not, to be you. You need to find your own purpose,’” Steven read.

Amethyst snorted, “Says the girl who had to pretend to be a human for the first few weeks we knew her.”

Peridot smirked and wrote, ‘I tried, but not that hard. The first day I was here I did eat a rat up on deck.”

“You ate a rat?!” Steven yelled after he read it out loud.

“She eats many,” Amethyst replied plainly.

“You’re so cool!” Steven shouted. He suddenly looked conflicted, “You said that I need to find my purpose in life, so what is yours then?”

‘I live for the group I am apart of. But lately I have been living for Lapis,’ Peridot wrote and then Steven read out loud.

“Awww, that's so cute!” Steven said.

Amethyst perked up at this, “You live only for Lapis or for a group? That doesn’t seem entirely healthy.

Peridot paused before she answered, ‘Lapis gives me purpose. For a long time I was lonely. Terribly lonely. Sometimes I think that I only lived because I couldn’t bring myself to stab myself or let myself be eaten because it is against everything fiber of my being.’

“How long were you alone?” Steven asked clearly worried.

Peridot shrugged in response.

“Where was your family?” Steven asked looking more distressed.

‘They left me behind when I got hurt,’ Peridot answered shifting her feet so they came into view.

“They just left you behind because you were hurt and they didn’t help you!? My dad always tells me that family is one of the most important things that someone could have because they will always love and support you!” Steven looked like he was getting more and more worked up as he went on, some tears forming in his eyes.

“Steven, kid, you should really calm down,” Amethyst said trying to comfort him.

Peridot just sat back and watched the two and thought. _It seems that this topic is quite sensitive to him. But, he does bring up a good point about that particular human emotion, love._ She had read it’s definition in the dictionary many times and had numerous novels back at her cave detailing the love between a monogamous pair of humans. Peridot had also read about the kind of love that was shared between family members like what Steven was saying about his father and observed it on the ship.

The more she read about the whole concept in her cave the more that Peridot understood that her species, while not incapable of the emotion didn’t experience it on the same level that the humans did. There was a bond between her and her old group members, but things like blood ties were quickly snapped when the time was right. A myriad of memories of multiple scratches and beatings Peridot had received were brought to the front of her mind.

When she looked at Amethyst hugging Steven and assuring him that family was important, Peridot could feel the emotions radiating off of them. The sadness, comfort, and warmth mixed together in a bundle of confusion, but it had a strange lit to it that Peridot recognized from the multiple family interactions on the ship.

‘No, they didn’t love me. At least not in the way that humans interpret the word,’ Peridot wrote out. When she gave it to Steven she tried to with a face that would convey that this was okay, but it only made him become more upset, crying harder as he read it outloud to Amethyst, who also looked distraught.

They both pulled her into their hug that lasted longer than any hug that Peridot had ever initiated or received. When they locked onto her the emotions they produced were more prominent and could invade Peridot’s brain with easy causing her to eventually start to squirm and pull away. She put on an expression of calm and gratefulness for their form of affection which they (thankfully) accepted.

After the moment the emotions were heavy in the air and somehow made them all focus better on the task of learning. For the rest of the lesson there was no major interruptions and things went smoothly. Although, when the air became light and easy Peridot noticed it left her with a hollow feeling in her chest and if she was being honest, she would confess that she actually prefered the pain from before over the nothingness that persisted.

 

None of their other conversations were as heavy as that one, but others were just as important. One day about two weeks into the lessons Steven almost out of nowhere turned his attention to Amethyst, “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead, kid,” Amethyst said easily as she looked up from her writing book. During the times when Steven was too busy with his own work Peridot would help Amethyst draw out letters and words.

“You have a crush on Pearl, right?” Steven asked, his eyes big and hopeful.

“Umm, ya. I guess I do,” Amethyst replied with a blush forming on her face.  

Peridot smiled at the boy’s forwardness. _Ah, if only I had the ability to have one of my own. They are truly delightful._

“So you’re gonna ask her on a date?”

“Uh, well I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure if she really likes me like that,” Amethyst answered looking away from him.

The boy looked confused, “You guys are constantly looking at each other with love eyes and she talks about you all the time when you’re not around.”

Amethyst’s blush got darker and spread through her face, “Sure, but we could just be really good friends. And sometimes I think that I’m not really good enough for her.”

“I think you’re a perfect match for her,” Steven assured.

‘I agree. You work well off of her and you are trying to better yourself for her which counts for something.’

It looked like Amethyst felt better after the reassurance, “Thanks, but I don’t know if I could ever really DO anything about these feelings, you know? Last time when I worked up the courage to flirt with Pearl intentionally, both of us were drunk.”

“I don’t know if that is the best thing to do,” Steven pointed out.

Amethyst nodded, “Ya. And I kinda want to stay away from alcohol for a while. Lapis told me some reasons why she doesn’t want to drink anymore and it put me off of the stuff.”

 _I'll have to ask Lapis about that later._ ‘Perhaps it is not just the alcohol at the part that made you brave, but the atmosphere of the party itself,’ Peridot wrote.

Steven gasped, “That’s a great idea!”

“What?” Amethyst asked confused.

“We should throw a party so you can feel comfortable to ask Pearl out on a date!”

“Ummm. I don’t know about that, Steven. We throw a lot of parties here on ship and Pearl doesn't like them too much,” Amethyst pointed out.

At this point in the day many of the crew members were coming downstairs for lunch and Steven exited the chamber and called many of them over. “You guys want to help us throw a party so Amethyst can ask Pearl to date her?” Steven asked.

“Hey, you’re finally going to ask her out?” Carnelian asked with excitement.

“It’s about time!” Sharkey yelled.

“Good job, little sis,” Jay said with a thumbs up.

Amethyst also left the room hastily, “Wait, you guys knew that I like Pearl?”

A chorus of multiple people saying of course were heard around the small group that gathered around them. “We’ve known for a while, but we didn’t want to mention it so you could figure out your own feelings without us teasing you about it,” Skinny explained.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Now what do we need to for this party? Because I can imagine that this needs to be better than the average out of hand shit festival we have down here,” Chip asked.

“Well, we don’t have much yet, but knowing Pearl it can’t have drinking or anything inappropriate,” Jay pointed out.

‘It should be up on the main deck during a nice night when the stars are shining bright and we can pull out the piano from her room,’ Peridot wrote and gave the paper to Jay.

“Good idea little green. And I think that it’s a good start.”

During their whole lunch time the family sat around and came up with multiple ideas for a more upper class fancy party. The conversation was filled with laughing and random thoughts, but in a fun way that somehow promoted a ridiculous type of progress.  

At the end of lunch everyone got up and went to go back to their normal jobs until Amethyst spoke up, “I just want to say that I appreciate everything that you guys are doing for me.”

All of the big beefy woman smiled at their young sister and surrounded her in what looked like a giant pile of people. All of them were saying things like we really want to help you, we want you to be happy, and we love you. It was a pile of about twenty women and one Steven that were hugging and giving off a pure emotion that Peridot could finally pinpoint as love.

An arm reached out to her and pulled Peridot into the family mass as well causing her to be engulfed in the warm and give a soundless laugh. Somehow she moved from the outskirts of it and was absorbed into it so that she was in the middle of it which caused the feeling to intensify.  

Later when she thought about family Peridot didn’t think of the one that had always starved and hurt her, but of the giant group of people on the ship that always seemed to surround her. She also realized that the emptiness she felt previously was filled in with something that had never really been there before.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by my phone! That being said, I'm gonna be away from a computer for about three weeks, so I wouldn't expect any more updates for at least that long. My apologies :(.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

Life on the ship was actually pretty good for the first two weeks of the voyage back to Homeland. Everyone did their (now larger) workloads without much complaint and the parties at night were much smaller and quieter. When someone told Lapis that the crew was planning a party to be the perfect setting so Amethyst could ask Pearl out, she immediately started to help plan it. The days were long and hard with physical labor and mental strain, but they were worth every moment when Lapis saw her friend’s excited face. It seemed to be a big family activity to plan the party in minuscule details. 

Her time spent with Peridot had increased compared to when they first boarded the ship. They had lunch together, spent some of the afternoon together, and part of the night. 

Oftentimes, after they had lunch Peridot would accompany her up on deck and tell her about her day teaching. Lapis wasn't too surprised when Peri told her that Amethyst asked her for reading lessons to make herself more suited for Pearl.  _ She needs a confidence boost and learning to read will definitely do that especially when most of her sisters can’t.  _

They would sit up on deck and Peridot would watch her toil around on the ship and talk to her, as much as they could anyway, with Peridot being silent. After they talked for a bit Peridot would take her position at the bow of the ship and close her eyes and that’s when Lapis would feel the wind pick up signifying the increased pace of the ship. 

_ Time to adjust the sails.  _ Around the same time everyday Peridot would move the ship and Lapis would need to adjust the sails to a certain degree to not cause strain. It was a similar thing that she had to do when there was a storm only Peridot didn’t cause gale force winds. One day after she adjusted the sails, Lapis walked up to Peridot and hugged her from behind while nuzzling the back of her head. “So, how’s our arrival schedule looking?” 

Peridot stiffened at first and then let out a relaxed sigh as she felt Lapis around her. She turned around so they could face each other, ‘We’re a little over a thousand kilometers ahead of Pearl’s usual course which is about three days.’

“Really? I would have thought that it would be a little bit more,” Lapis said playfully. 

Peridot’s face became a mix of fake offence and actual offence, ‘On average I make the ship travel five more knots an hour and if I were to do anymore the stability of the ship could be compromised.’

“Oh, so this is our maximum speed, huh? That’s pretty cool. You’re not exhausting yourself doing this though, are you?” Lapis asked. 

‘I’m not feeling any more tired than usual. Don’t forget the more I use my powers the more they grow.’

“Yes, but I know how drained it makes you, especially when you do this for six hours straight on minimal sleep.”

‘I’m fine,’ Peridot asserted. Then she turned back to the ocean to continue her work and ending the conversation.

Lapis only smirked.  _ She thinks that she can get rid of me by turning away, eh?  _ She brushed herself up against the shorter woman and enveloped them both in her captain’s coat. 

Peridot turned her head slightly and opened one eye as her way to question Lapis’ action. 

“I just thought that you would be a little cold because of the wind up here,” Lapis said innocently. Then she decided to place her hands on top of Peridot’s and move her head from nuzzling fluffy blonde hair to the crook of her neck. Lapis’ grin grew when she felt Peridot’s form heat up and lean into her touch signifying that she was comfortable in Lapis’ grasp. 

With the both of them wrapped in the long coat their torsos were warm and the wind only blew through their hair enough to be only slightly uncomfortable.  _ This is nice. Though, I wonder what she would do if I bit her neck right now.  _ Lapis snuggled into the nape of her neck and moved her hips side to side which caused Peridot’s chest to freeze and crane her neck to give Lapis more access.  _ I mean, she already bit me, so I could tell her that it’s only fair.  _ Lapis contemplated it for a moment before deciding to open her mouth slightly and-

“You can’t do things like that on the deck!”

Lapis sprang away from Peridot and looked at Pearl with an embarrassed expression, “We weren’t doing anything inappropriate! We were just keeping warm.”

“That coat doesn’t hide your movements, Lapis. Imagine if Steven came up here and saw that!” Pearl chided.

“So what? He’s probably walked in on Ruby and Sapphire or heard them doing much worse before,” Lapis retorted.   

“Just don’t do that stuff in broad day light up here,” Pearl huffed as she turned away to go back to the wheel. 

“I don’t interrupt you and Amethyst when you two get all snuggly,” Lapis grumbled as she went back next to Peridot who was smiling at her.

‘She just worries for Steven’s innocence. I’ve gathered that humans value that for some reason,’ Peridot mouthed.

“Usually it’s because parents either don’t want to feel old or can’t stand the fact that their child is growing up and won’t be as attached to them anymore. At least that’s what I’ve gathered about parents.” This time Lapis just stood next to Peridot, now aware of the pair of eyes watching them. 

They stood together observing the sea rise, fall, and be split by their vessel until Peridot turned and moved Lapis’ head with her finger so they were facing each other. Her face looked analytical and she was studying Lapis’ face intently, ‘What do you think about children?’

“About children? They’re...okay. I like Steven,” Lapis said trying to be as vague as possible.  _ Where is this coming from? _

‘Would you ever like to have some?’ Peridot asked.

“Yes,” Lapis lied quickly. 

At that Peridot didn’t answer and had a blank face which made Lapis simultaneously relieved and concerned. They went back to staring at the ocean and Lapis looked over to Peridot every other minute to make sure she was okay.  _ That’s what she wants, right? She always said that she really wanted kids. That had to be the right answer but, she looks so sad. Should probably ask her about it.  _ “What are you thinking about, Peridot?” Lapis asked gently.  _ Please don’t say having kids. _

‘The ocean.’

_ Thank you God, you might exist!  _ “What specifically about the ocean?”

‘Swimming in it. It’s been a while since I’ve been swimming and I miss it. The salt, weightlessness, the taste of a fresh kill.’

_ Oh. Of course she would miss the water, she’s supposed to live in it.  _ “When we stop at the island to repair the ship you’ll swim back down to the cave.”

‘That’s not for a while though,’ Peridot said with apparent sadness painting her face.

Lapis frowned, “If you talk to Pearl, I think that you can convince her to stop the ship for a day to repair it and you can go swimming then.”

Peridot looked down, ‘I want to go back in the water, but I don’t know if I can.’

“Why not?” 

‘I can’t.’

Lapis hesitated but told Peridot, “You can tell me if you’re afraid.”    __

At this Peridot jumped up, ‘No! I’m not afraid. I need to concentrate on moving the boat. I’ll be speeding it up a bit, so you should go fix the sails.’ She turned away from Lapis and closed her eyes tightly. 

Lapis only looked at her with a sorrowful expression and walked away. Later that night Lapis didn’t bring anything up from their previous conversation, so they went into their usual nightly routine of reading before Peridot would be called up by Pearl. They only had four books including the leather bound one that Peridot brought up with her from the cave. Sometimes they would practice sign language together or they would study their books separately and make idol conversation.   

Peridot liked to study the anatomy book and Lapis the history book when they were separate, but that night Lapis looked over to her more than usual.  _ What is she looking at that’s making her so upset?  _ It seemed that tonight Peridot was really focusing on the reproductive system and looking increasingly distraught.  _ She just keeps flipping through the same exact pages.  _ She kept her gaze fixated on Peridot and watched her intently abandoning her book completely.

When Peridot moved to wiped her face she noticed that Lapis was staring at her and gave a surprised expression. 

“Do you want to talk about anything?” Lapis asked.

‘No.’

Lapis took a deep breath. “Are you sure? You’ve been really upset ever since this afternoon when we talked about kids and the ocean.”  

‘I’m fine,’ Peridot said and looked down to end the conversation.

“Okay.” Lapis went back to the modern advances of Homeland. When it was time to go to sleep she could only lay awake thinking.  _ It’s cool that the water system was upgraded so that the poor could...why won’t she just tell me what’s wrong or that she is afraid of being in the ocean? Come on Lapis, you can figure this out. She’s sad when looking at the reproductive system and seemed distant after I told her I wanted kids. Did she not know that humans can’t change genders? I wonder if she thinks that I would go for a man then.  _ Lapis shivered at the thought. 

As they laid there Lapis could feel Peridot continually squeezing her and breathing funny into her chest. Finally, Lapis couldn’t take it anymore and gently forced Peridot to look at her, “Ready to talk about it?”

‘I apologize, but I can not bare children.’ Peridot’s face only stayed up long enough for her to stay that sentence and then she buried her face back into Lapis’ chest. 

Lapis felt her chest become damp and Peridot hold her tighter than before.  _ Shit.  _ “That’s okay Peridot. You’re worth more than your body.” She said this in a calming tone while stroking Peridot’s head to try to comfort her. 

After a bit Peridot lifted her face back up. ‘I always knew somehow that I couldn’t, but reading why I can’t made it hurt more than before.’

_ Wow Lapis, you really fucked this one in the ass. Even though I don’t really want kids and it would probably kill me inside, I need to try to fix this.  _ “You said you’re species can change gender, so you’d be able to you know…”

Peridot gave her a small smile, ‘I don’t think I can do that either. I’m not sure of the chemical triggering that takes place to allow such a change to happen, but it probably would have happened when we were alone together in the cave.’

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s alright, Peridot. Just remember that you aren’t broken in anyway. There are other ways to go and obtain children if you really want them.”

‘Thanks, Lapis.’

“I know that I said that I wanted kids, and I kinda do, but I also never thought I would get to the point in my life where I would settle down and have them. I always thought I would either be trapped with Jasper or dead.”

Lapis had to take a deep breath.

“I-look, Peridot, I honestly don’t think that I’m a suitable role model for children or the best person to take care of them. My two longest career paths were prisoner and drunkard, and I’ve only recently started having actual decent relationships with other people. I just don’t want to fuck up a child,” Lapis finished.  _ Now I feel all exposed and empty. _

Peridot looked up to her and swiped the tears from Lapis’ face that she didn’t even know were there and stroked her lightly. ‘From what I’ve seen, I don’t think that you would be a bad role model.’

The emptiness that Lapis felt was quickly replaced by a steady warmth. “Thanks, Peri.” Then she decided to take a chance and placed a light kiss on Peridot’s forehead, “Goodnight, my wonderful, lovely, remarkable, green treasure.”

Peridot looked stunned, her sensational blue eyes were wide looking into her own. She swallowed and mouth slowly, ‘Goodnight, my aqua lionfish.’

They both smiled as they snuggled into each other, content and warmed by the new level of intimacy they found.   
  


The next day they got up and went about their normal business as usual only Lapis felt a bit more happy. “I hope I showed her that it’s okay to say what you’re afraid of,” Lapis mumbled to herself on deck as she walked past the mainsail. 

“You guys were really cute last night,” Skinny told her. At the moment Skinny was starting to climb up the main mast. 

Lapis stopped walking and whipped her now red face in Skinny’s direction, “You were listening to us?!”

Skinny stopped climbing for a moment, “Yes, well kinda. We can only hear what you said. We all think it’s really cute how you care for her so much.”

“We? You mean all you guys were listening?!”

“Those of us who were awake.” 

“You know it’s impolite to listen in to people’s conversation.”

Skinny laughed and continued to climb, “Sorry, I can’t give you more details on how we spy on ya. Got to go to the look out.”

Lapis narrowed her eyes at the ascending lady and turned her attention to Chip who was fixing a metal ring on a barrel. “Hey Chip, do you guys listen to me and Peridot at night?”

Chip looked up and wiped some sweat from her forehead, “Sometimes I do when I can’t get to sleep. It’s relaxing hearing you talk to her, and some of us who are listening are learning a lot about Homeland from your discussions.”

“I can’t believe you guys just eavesdrop on us like that,” Lapis huffed.  

“It’s not completely intentional. It’s been hard to sleep lately and your room is lit up and the bars allow us to hear you.”

“You watch us too!”

Chip shrugged and went back to her barrel so Lapis looked around for someone else she knew to question. When she only saw some of the other nameless faces in the background she went back to her work, more agitated than she was before. Midday was in full swing when Skinny sounded the alarm from the crows nest which caused Pearl to come stumbling out of her room. 

“What-what happened?” Pearl slurred with sleep still inhabiting most of her body.

“Sperm whale carcass starboard side, and it looks fresh,” Skinny yelled. Then she pointed off the right side of the ship. Sure enough a whale body was a little ways away.

Those words seemed to wake Pearl up immediately because she turned to Lapis, “Maneuver the ship to get next to it! We need to see if it’s head cavity is still intact. Chip, round up all the crew members you can and bring them up here.”

Everyone did as they were told and within a few minutes Lapis, Garnet, and a few deckhands positioned the ship to be near the deceased whale. Some of the other crew members such as Sharky, Lavender, and the nameless faces readied harpoons and sharp objects to dig into the whale. 

Pearl seemed too busy with managing that task, so Lapis decided to take partial charge. “Someone get some empty barrels up here,” Lapis instructed. At Lapis’ command Carnelian, Amethyst, and Peridot brought up ten empty barrels and Peridot quickly finished fixing the barrel that Chip had on deck.  _ This may not be enough.  _ She looked to Amethyst, “There were no more empty ones?”

“Not that I saw,” Amethyst replied shaking her head. 

Peridot came up to Lapis and pointed to the to the commotion, ‘What’s going on?’

“Alright, so that’s a Sperm Whale carcass and what we have to do is cut off the head and bring it up on board. Then we’ll take buckets and scoop up all the oils that are inside. Whale oil is very valuable and if it is a big whale with a lot of oil we could have a small fortune here,” Lapis explained. Peridot still looked confused, but made no further comment on it. 

With raw woman power, twenty crew members, and one mermaid they hoisted a very heavy whale head up on deck and cut it open to get at the liquid gold inside. “Are you sure we have no more empty barrels?” Pearl asked her crew.

“Eeyup,” Carnelian responded with a huff. 

“Anything we can dump so we have more storage?” Lapis suggested.

“No, all we have is cargo and food, and it would be unwise to get rid of those things,” Pearl replied.

Lapis wracked her brain until her head turned back to Peridot who was with Steven, studying the rest of the whale that was still in the water.  _ Duh, Peridot.  _ “How much scrap metal do we have?” Lapis asked and pointed to Peridot to get her message across. 

Pearl smiled, “Not sure, Peridot would you come here for a moment?”

Peridot dropped a piece of whale meat into Steven’s hands and obediently came forth. 

“You think you could round up some extra metal and make containers for this oil?” Lapis asked.

She nodded and set out to work on her new order. After a while she came back with ten more perfectly shaped metal containers. ‘I have found the metal most worth sacrificing.’

“Good job, Peridot!” Pearl praised. 

Sapphire also carried a few glass jars up from the kitchen and Ruby brought a barrel that they said was almost empty. They got they equivalent of about twenty three barrels of oil which would fetch them a good sum at market. It was about late afternoon when the whaling activity was finished and Pearl decided that a little bit of leisure time was deserved because the crew was working so hard lately. 

After collecting any available whale meat for them to eat later they let the carcass drift out to sea to be claimed by the multiple sea creatures and inevitably the cycle of life. The body floated only a few ship lengths away before the crew started jumping into the calm ocean for a bit of a swim. Almost everyone decided to go in the salty water to cool off.

Peridot looked at the crew swimming in the ocean with a very uneasy expression. 

Lapis decided to stay with her up on deck and watch the rest of the crew members relax in the water below.  _ Alright, moment of truth time.  _ “Peridot would you like to go in with everyone else?” Lapis asked tentatively.

‘No! What are they doing in there? We are still very close to those whale remains. Do they not realize that will attract many predators? You humans can’t swim fast enough to evade anything!’ Peridot mouthed with vigor. 

“That means that those creatures will be attracted to the easy mean and we’re pretty far away from it, so we’re safe,” Lapis pointed out. 

“Come on Lapis, why don’t you join us in the water?” Lavender called out. In the water the woman’s hair was kept flat and her tan skin absorbed the light beautifully. Her alluring purple eyes were also half lidded as she beckoned Lapis.  _ She looks like the true definition of siren right now.  _

Peridot stiffened at Lavender’s voice and took Lapis’ hand and held it firmly to reinforce the fact that she didn’t want them to be in the water. “Soon,” Lapis replied which caused Peridot to hold her hand tighter. 

“What’s wrong, the mermaid afraid of the water?” Lavender asked with a teasing lit.

At that Peridot puffed out her chest in response and that seemed to be all she needed to start  to undress. Lapis’ stomach fluttered, “You don’t need to take off all your clothes.”

Peridot seemed to ignore her because she stripped down and placed her clothes and feet off to the side baring herself to the world and the rest of the crew. Many wolf whistles and catcalls rang out as Peridot dove into the water gracefully, even if she didn’t have proper feet. Everyone watched the spot where she dove to see what she would come up as, and surprisingly enough it was her normal human form. 

Her poofy golden hair was only weighed down slightly in the water and she bobbed in a way that almost exposed her breasts to the eye. Peridot’s own eyes stood out as a different shade of blue compared to the navy colored water around her and the small smile on her thin lips made her more alluring. Peridot gently raised her arm out of the water to beckon her with a lithe hand covered in perpetually cream color skin. 

_ The true siren makes herself known.  _ Lapis swallowed and began to undress herself to join in with the fun, but leaving on her panties and support top before diving in. The ocean was colder than the hot summer air above and the salt stung her eyes, but it also helped keep her afloat. She surfaced next to Peridot who looked very pleased and started to swim around her in small circles. Lapis watched Peridot circle her a few times and stiffened slightly when their limbs would brush. 

“You’re still an excellent swimmer,” Lapis whispered. 

Peridot perked up at her voice and stopped in front of Lapis. ‘My powers have developed to the point where I don’t think I need my feet nor tail anymore.’     

“You know,” Lapis started, “You can transform if you want.”

‘I don’t want to scare anyone.’

Lapis lightly brushed her arm, “I told you before you aren’t scary, you’re fascinating.”

At that Peridot’s milky skin darkened in pigment and became slimy in texture, her fluffy hair turned into jelly like dreads, and her face shirted to something that isn’t human, but still somehow symmetrical and captivating. Lapis heard a few gasps behind them, but they went ignored in favor of the enchanting creature in front of her. 

The first thing that Peridot did was put her hands on Lapis’ forearms and Lapis did the same letting her feel Peridot’s slick skin. Her sharp nails dug into her slightly, and Peridot moved her right hand up and traced her neck with her thumb. Lapis meanwhile moved her hands up to Peridot’s hair where she could feel it pulsing with life and electricity, but it didn’t harm her. 

Then Peridot lead her down below the water almost to the point where her head hurt. It pained her eyes to open them underwater, but it felt like she had to watch Peridot zoom around her. At some point it became almost like a game where one of them would swim away and the other would try to catch them. Of course Peridot was faster, but she seemed to slow down when it was Lapis’ turn for the chase. When they caught each other they would embrace and surface entwined together.  _ I wish I took the potion of underwater breathing before we did this.  _

They always tried to surface for air at the same time and in different places each time always keeping their eyes on each other. Sometimes they would swim around each other and almost dance underwater to the point where Lapis started to get light headed. Eventually she couldn’t tell if it was from the lack of air or the beginnings of exhaustion. 

To Lapis it felt like they were swimming for hours and her limbs felt heavy and tired, so she indicated to Peridot that she needed a break to which the other woman agreed to. They went back up to the ship and laid down on the deck to dry off in the strong afternoon sun. Peridot returned to her normal human looking self and Lapis could barely stand to look away from her, because of the water droplets moving down the curves and edges of her skin.

“Hey looks like you guys finally made it to home plate, eh Lapis?” Amethyst said with a stupid grin. She too eyed Peridot a bit.

Lapis narrowed her eyes at the small woman and was about to respond when Pearl came up to them. “Peridot, can you put some clothes on? Steven may still be in the water, but just in case he comes back up unexpectedly I don’t want him to see an unclothed woman,” Pearl said.

Peridot nodded and Amethyst looked very nervous with Pearl’s presence. “Hey, Pearl. Why didn’t you come swimming with us? It would have been very nice to see you having fun and splashing around,” Amethyst said, but she mumbled the last part.

“Oh, I’m sorry Amethyst, I didn’t quite catch that,” Pearl said. 

Perhaps it was the fact that Amethyst always made fun of her or that she was just observing Peridot in a slightly lewd way, but Lapis decided it was time for a little payback. “She said that it would have been nice if you went swimming with us because it would be great to see you scantily clothed and dripping wet.”

“What?!” Pearl’s voice was shrill and her face was completely flushed.

_ I can kinda see why she does this. It’s fucking hilarious.  _ Lapis watched with amusement as Amethyst struggled to speak to Pearl and explaining that she didn’t really say that. Soon Pearl briskly walked to her cabin with her hands covering her face and Amethyst following her. 

Peridot elbowed her, ‘You didn’t have to say that.’

“What? I’m not allowed to get back at Amethyst? Besides they are literally in Pearl’s room right now! Who knows what they’re doing in there.”

Peridot huffed at her, but didn’t bring it up again and continued to sunbathe despite Pearl’s earlier order. ‘You know, you’re very beautiful,’ Peridot mouthed out of nowhere.

Her facial expression showed that she was being sincere and not lewd in anyway which caused Lapis’ breath to seize. She scooted closer to Peridot and linked their arms together and Peridot rested her head on her shoulder as they baked in the sun. 

Lapis took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to take everything in. The sun was shining, life was good, and everything felt warm.   


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

“No Amethyst, to make things plural with an -x you need to add an -es to the end of it,” Lapis sighed in exasperation. “Okay, we’re going to take a break for a while.” After some careful consideration and gentle prodding (aka a direct order) from Peridot, Lapis decided to try to make up for her messing with Pearl and Amethyst’s developing relationship by helping Amethyst learn to read and write.

 _How does Peri do this with her for five hours a day?_ It was exhausting and Amethyst was a master at getting her instructor off topic. Anything that the girl could think of from their jobs to Pearl to drinking or roping Lapis into talking about her own personal experiences. _Either she actually doesn't want to learn, gets distracted easily, or she’s just fucking with me to get back at me._

‘How are you doing?’ Peridot mouthed with a sympathetic expression. She allowed Steven to take a break as well because as Lapis learned, once you let Ame run wild, you’re screwed.

“I honestly can’t see how you do this everyday. You must be some kind of wonderful to do this,” Lapis replied taking a swig out of a glass of water that was nearby.

Peridot wrapped her arms around Lapis and gave her a flirtatious grin, ‘I suppose you should change my name to wonderful then.’

Lapis gave her the same grin and pulled the other girl in close so their foreheads touched. “Why should I stop there? I did say you are a treasure.”

“You guys are kinda disgusting sometimes,” Amethyst interrupted. She just came back from the kitchen and was stuffing her face with a piece of cooked whale meat.

“I’m sure you and Pearl are the same way when no one can see. What did you two do in her cabin a couple days ago?” Lapis asked.

At this Amethyst looked away and had her hair cover most of her face. “We only talked to each other and it was way less mushy than what you guys are saying.”

“No its not,” Steven piped up. “I hear you guys all the time and I think you and Pearl are way worse than them.”

“What!” Amethyst yelled in surprise. “You little traitor!” She grabbed Steven in a soft headlock and started to to noogie him playfully. Steven tried to get out of her grip, but was laughing too much to do so.

Lapis turned back to Peridot just in time to see her mouth, ‘I guess we’ll just have to try harder.’ As if a switch had been flipped the sweet moment suddenly turned heavier as Peridot moved so that their noses were touching and Lapis could feel her soft breath on her lips. Once Peridot’s hand traveled lower down her back Lapis’ racing heartbeat started to feel different than what she knows she should feel.

Instead of feeling excited and thrilled with new physical contact she started to feel anxious and shaky. So much so that she pulled away from Peridot slightly so their faces weren’t in front of each other anymore. _Why do I always feel like I need to pull away when we get like that?_ Peridot looked slightly confused at Lapis’ reaction and slightly scared expression. Lapis sighed. _I’ll figure this out later._

“Alright, read that passage out loud to me,” Lapis instructed when they got back into work. Amethyst squinted her eyes and read it slowly out loud. Sometimes she would ask Lapis how to pronounce a word correctly or Lapis would correct her when Amethyst didn’t know she did something wrong. “You did pretty well, Ame. Now tell me what it was about.”

“Ugh, why do I gotta do that? You just heard it,” Amethyst griped.

“Yes, but I need to know that you comprehend everything that you just read,” Lapis responded with force.

“Fine. It was about a boy walking to the town next to him and buying two hunting puppies,” Amethyst recited with annoyance.

“Very good, Amethyst. Pearl would be very proud of you, it is one of her favorite stories.”

Amethyst perked up, “Really?” She looked at the small book in her hands with a lot more purpose and weight.

Lapis smiled at her. _She may lack in focus, but she lacks nothing in purpose._ As she was smiling she felt a tug at her shirt and surprisingly enough it was Peridot.

‘Why would you go to the next town over to buy dogs? That is a long way to go for two small food items,’ Peridot mouthed in confusion.

“No Peri, the boy wanted to keep them as pets. I’m sure you’ve read about pets before,” Lapis said with a raised brow.

‘I have read about that before, but I assumed that the animals were eaten when the story was over.’

“No, we keep pets because we like animals and they do things for us. They provide companionship, help us hunt, and we just like them in general.”

They were about to resume instruction when Amethyst interrupted, “Woah, woah, woah, this seems like a very important topic. Perhaps you should go into it with more detail.”

“Dammit Amethyst don’t try to get us off topic. You just need to sit down and focus for more than fifteen minutes,” Lapis said in a perturbed manner.

“It’s not my fault you guys have weird conversations and you have a lot of life stories that I want to hear about. Besides you don’t want Peridot to go around eating other people’s animals do you?” Amethyst responded with a crooked smile.

 _I do agree with her that I should go over some stuff with Peridot before we reach Homeland._ “You’re a sly motherfucker, you know that right?” _I guess she kinda is considering she is probably going to or has fucked Steven’s almost mom._ Lapis decided that it was a good idea to explain this to Peridot now rather than forgetting to do it later. She mostly explained the different types of domesticated animals and the difference between the ones you eat and the ones you keep.

The conversation took about a half an hour to complete with a lot of interruptions and questions from Amethyst and Peridot respectively. ‘I suppose that you treat dogs how I used to treat dolphins,’ Peridot connected.

“Exactly. They help us hunt and we like being around them. So, don’t eat dogs especially, but also don’t eat animals that we don’t own,” Lapis said with a smile. _It is really nice to help someone learn._ “Now, if we don’t have anymore interruptions, let’s get back to our studies.”

“Actually,” Steven spoke up with a small voice, “Can I ask you to tell a story?”

Lapis looked down to the boy. She knew that she should have been spending more time with him, but the ship, her own personal struggles, and Peridot have been occupying her mind and actions for quite sometime now. “Sure buddy, what do you want to know about?”

“Oh, you don’t yell at him for distracting you? Way to show who's your favorite,” Amethyst said butting in. Lapis only shot her an annoyed glare before turning her attention back to the shy boy in front of her.

“I was wondering if you could tell me story about my mom,” Steven said looking away. “I mean Rose Quartz,” he quickly added.

 _That’s adorable, I bet he thought that I would tell him a story about Pearl._ Lapis smiled at the thought, but it started to fall when she remembered her stance on the large big haired woman. “I’m sorry Steven, but I didn’t really know her. I fought for the other side, remember?”

The boy deflated a bit, “Aww. Can you tell me anything about her? Wait, instead of that can you tell me about Pink Diamond?”

Both Lapis and Amethyst froze with his question. No one talked about Pink Diamond anymore after the war to the point that it was almost taboo to say her name. “Well,” Lapis started carefully, “I don’t know much about Pink Diamond either, but I did meet Blue Diamond once when I was nineteen. I can tell you about that if you want.” _Also, holy shit that’s going to be almost twenty years now. This must be how Pearl feels when remembering Steven’s age._

Everyone in the room perked up at that. “You really met a Diamond?” Amethyst asked incredulously.

“Yeah…”

“Everyone just tells me how horrible and sick the Diamonds are. I would love to hear what they were really like,” Steven said with stars in his eyes.

Lapis took a slow deep breath, “There is a reason why people say things like that about them. It’s kind of an intense story. Do you think you’re okay with that, kiddo?” Steven eagerly nodded, as did the other two people in the room. Everyone got comfortable and gave their undivided attention to Lapis. “Alright then. I was accompanying Jasper…”

 

“Why the hell are we here?” Lapis grouchily asked her companion. They had been walking around the city for hours to finally get to a dark alleyway with two castle guards in front of it. There was a sign above the entrance that she couldn’t make out and after her companion exchanged pleasantries with the guards they started down a set of stairs.

The stones that made up the tunnel looked old and some of them were coming out of the walls or pathway due to age or plants growing out of them. The deeper they went the more damp and chilly it seemed to get. _I almost slipped on these fucking bricks at least five times._ It was impossible to tell how far down they were once the entrance disappeared from view.

“Because we’re on leave and I told you this is where we had to go,” Jasper grunted back. Even on leave the tall woman still wore her large red captain’s coat and matching hat. She also didn’t leave her impressive gate and demanding demeanor back at the boat either.

“Why do I have to be here? This is probably something that you were assigned and my legs are fuckin’ killing me. We only have a couple days off and I don’t want to spend one down here, I’ve been in enough goddamn prisons.”

“Because I need to make sure that you’re not whoring it up or stealing anything. Now stop bitching and shut up,” Jasper ended with a growl.

“Maybe I would stop bitching if you treated me a bit gentler last night,” Lapis griped.

That comment must have made the large woman particularly unhappy because she stopped and slammed her hand on the cool stone wall so that her arm blocked the path in front of Lapis. Lapis jumped at the immovable barrier as Jasper got real close to her. “Well maybe if you didn’t make me so angry I wouldn’t have to be so rough with ya,” she growled harsher than before moving her other hand to be on Lapis’ hip and squeezing it. After a moment the giant moved away and started back down the stairs while Lapis let out a shaky breath.

It took another few minutes and a large temperature drop for them to get to the bottom floor. Low moans and cries could be heard echoing through the place which made Lapis decide to move closer to her lover in case something happened to pop up.  The torches on the walls only lit the space just enough to be the equivalent of twilight up on the surface. The bottom floor (from what she could see) was one big room that had two hallways on either side that were lined with heavy wooden doors and thick metal bars.

“Stay here,” Jasper ordered. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She proceeded to walk down the right tunnel and quickly disappeared from sight.

Lapis sat down on the second to last step and huffed while she tried to look around some more, but it was all the same damp stone for as far as her eyes could see, so about thirty or so feet. The distinct scent of death, hopelessness, and despair wafted through the stagnant air. _You know what? She doesn’t fucking control me. I can do what I want!_ She grabbed a torch off the wall and decided to walk down the left hallway. To her surprise it wasn’t just one long hallway, but it was many that seemed to spread out to whole west wing.

“Why hello there little lady, what brings you to this dreary place?” said a smooth voice. Lapis jumped and turned around to the source of the voice and pointed the torch at it. With the bright light she could see that the man was tall, very skinny, and dressed in a very nice looking suit. He was older as evidence by his wrinkles and thinning blonde hair. His skin was pale, eyes were glassy, and he obviously had something wrong with his mouth because it was off centered and misshapen. “Did you get left down here?”

She eyed the man carefully, especially his non muscular looking arms. _I could probably take him out if he tries anything._ Lapis lowered the torch slightly, “I guess you could say that.”

“Well then, would you like me to give you the grand tour?” he said rolling the -r in grand.

Lapis gave him a small smile, “Sure stranger. My name is Lapis, what’s yours?”

“Very pretty name my dear, and my own is Martin,” Martin said returning her smile. His teeth looked sharper than the average human’s which was explained when he turned around and started walking. Two wings protruded from his back and they weren't bird wings, but clear vein filled fly like wings.

 _So he’s a fly person? His mouth makes sense then._ Lapis walked beside him as Martin grabbed a torch of his own and started to point things out to Lapis. They were mostly boring things like when the place was built or the specific types of stones that were used in construction. You know, stupid shit. The only real thing of interest that he told her was what the sign said at the entrance of the tunnel which was: Down in the catacombs do not pray to God because you are so close to hell that he will not hear.

While Martin droned on about that stuff, Lapis would sometimes get a glimpse of the things that were behind the thick wooden doors from the barred windows. Things were the best way to describe the beings that were trapped in the small rooms. “So you’re interested in the monsters behind the doors?” Martin purred as he led her down another set of hallways.

“I knew that we were in a jail, but some of those things seem like they shouldn’t be alive,” Lapis observed.

Martin nodded his head and opened a random door to reveal a small room with no windows and no light. To the back was something that may have once resembled a person, but obviously didn’t now. It had normal human limbs and so many more like an extra leg and two arms protruding out of it’s back that looked like they were sewn on. When she stepped forward one of its eyes opened, but didn’t focus on her.

“What is this?” Lapis asked the man behind her.

Martin looked calm as ever and idly looked over the mess, “One of the many experiments that the Diamonds are doing right now,”

“They’re doing this on purpose?” Lapis asked backing away. She noticed many puncture wounds on it’s skin as it laid helpless on the ground.

“With all the magical beasts leaving, the Diamonds want to find out how creatures with extra appendages are magical,” Martin explained.

They exited one room and went to another one and was greeted with a terrifyingly similar sight. This time the person was noticeably female and had what looked like a pair of animal ears sewn on her head. The wound looked infected and seemed to ooze with puss as she looked up to the new people in the room. Her eyes widened when she saw them and tried to back away as Lapis approached her.

“Hey, no, it’s okay,” Lapis said as she crouched down to meet her at her own level. She pulled out some bread that she had from her pocket and gave it to the girl who looked way too thin. The monster girl ate it greedily which gave Lapis enough time to look her over and see the same puncture wounds scattered around her skin.

Martin and Lapis went back to the hallway and gently closed the door. She didn’t know if it was sick curiosity or something inside her that drove Lapis to visit many of them inside, even with her aching legs. Every door that was opened had another victim of war behind it and Lapis went to each one and at least tried to help them out a bit. She let the prisoners have a lot of the things that she had.

One wanted some of her clothes another wanted an earring and someone else wanted her torch, all of which she gladly gave to the poor souls. Some of them she couldn’t help like the man with no skin and the beaten terrestrial creature that lacked a face. _I’ve been in prison before, but it was nothing like this._

Sure, she had been beaten, abused, and used during her time, but never experimented on in such way that she had extra or missing body parts. All these people looked like all of those things happened anyway and it was curious that none of them were chained to the wall or kept in the room by force since all the doors were open.

Her and Martin walked into another room, “Why are none of these people chained up like in a regular jail?”

“You’ve seen the creatures in here, most can’t move even if they wanted to. If they could rise up, where would they go looking like they do?”

Lapis nodded and looked around the new room with curiosity because it seemed that no one was inhabiting it. “Huh, every room that we’ve been in was occupied so far. Wonder who was in this room.” The door closed behind her and Lapis looked at Martin with semi-surprise. _I can’t say I didn’t see this coming._

“Because this is your room, new star child,” Martin said as his smile got wider. It looked as though the skin near his mouth started to split the wider it got and his tongue formed a long, sharp, thin, black needle like appendage or labium. He grew another pair of legs that were thinner than his other limbs. Not only that, but it looked like his eyes peeled away to reveal two large black compound eyes underneath. “And now it’s time for me to dine on the sweet nectar that is your blood!” Martin yelled with somewhat difficulty.

Lapis took a step back as he started to buzz in the air on his small wings. _I gotta give him this though, I didn’t expect a giant mosquito man._ “I don’t think so, buzzy.” She grabbed the needle like appendage with force and tried to crack it over her knee like you would a large stick, but it didn’t break. “God, fuck that hurt!”

Martin said nothing as he quickly recovered and tried to stab Lapis in the torso, only for her to dodge and knee him in the stomach and quickly bring an elbow down on the middle of his back causing him to fall out of the air. She ran to the heavy door and closed it forcefully until she realized none of the door have locks. _FUCK._

Lapis started to run down the hallway trying to remember the way that she came from and started to sprint faster when she heard the buzzing get close to her. Her legs still ached which caused her to run slower than normal. Lapis looked back and saw that Martin was right behind her, arm outstretched ready to grab, so she quickly snatched another torch that was on the wall and hit him with it.

The force of hitting his body at a high speed made the torch break in half sending the fire end somewhere down the hall and the the other became a stake in her hand. Martin stumbled to get up, but he did and started to advanced towards Lapis on foot. He was slower now and decided to try to punch Lapis, which he succeeded in twice before she managed to hit him with a hard right hook in his compound eye.

He wailed in pain and looked like he was about to go down so Lapis decided to give the finishing blow, which was to plunge the broken torch straight into his chest. He finally collapsed and stayed down only twitching occasionally. Lapis caught her breath and looked down at the pathetic sight, “Fuck you, you fuckin’ wiggler.”

She looked around to try to get her bearings. _Great. I’m lost and I just killed a guy in the personal dungeon of the evil queens. I can already feel the beating I’m gonna get for this later._ Lapis wandered for a bit, even going back into some of the wooden doors to try to see if she recognized any of the residence, but had no luck.

“I can show you the way back,” said a soft monotone voice from behind her.

Lapis jumped and turned around to see a small woman who had pale skin that had a grey/blue tint to it. She also had short blue hair that covered her eyes, pierced ears with gold studs, a gold chain necklace, and matching gold chain bracelets. Her clothes were a light blue color and decorated ornately with white patterns. They were also rather revealing covering only from the bottom of her breasts to the top of her legs. Only a thin sparkling veil skirt made her slightly more presentable.

“Who the fuck are you?” Lapis asked quickly becoming ridged. _People need to stop appearing behind me because now I’m just going to start beating their asses._

“You don’t know who I am?” she asked in the same monotone.

She looked at the woman closer and noted that for some reason it was slightly brighter around her and her form was more saturated than anything else she had seen down here. The other thing that Lapis noted was that this was no ordinary woman or bug monster, she was Bleu, the personal servant of Blue Diamond. “Yes, and I would love if you would bring me back to the entrance of this place,” Lapis said with immediate change in tone. She bowed respectfully to try to gain favor and make up for her previous mistake.

Bleu said nothing and turned away prompting Lapis to follower her down many corridors making her very glad that the odd girl appeared. _I probably would have become the next crypt keeper here if she didn’t find me somehow._ As they walked Lapis noticed that the temperature was slightly colder when she was closer to Bleu. Once they got to the entrance of the dungeon Lapis sat down on the second to last stair again.

They both waited only Bleu didn’t sit, she just continued to stand near the wall with perfect posture becoming so still and unmoving that she could almost be mistaken for a statue. They didn’t make any conversation, so Lapis sat and waited for her girlfriend to return. She perked up when she heard two voices, one she recognized.

“I hope the new course isn’t a bother to you and I do hope that I won’t see you back here, Jasper,” the tall woman said in a smooth cold voice. The tall woman was of course one of the four rulers of Homeland, Blue Diamond. She was even taller than Jasper (which is impressive), had milk chocolate skin, and wore a robe that covered most of her body and face only leaving her hands exposed.

“Of course, my Diamond,” Jasper responds. Her voice was uncharacteristically shaky. Lapis looked over to Bleu, who had got into a bowing position and decided to follow suit as her queen came into view.

As with Bleu, the room seemed to drop even more in temperature as the queen approached. “And who is this?” Blue Diamond asked. The way she said the sentence made unpleasant shivers go down Lapis’ spine.

“Lapis Lazuli, my liege,” Bleu answered softly.

Lapis took a deep breath as she felt her Diamond look her over. “Is she a new charge? Usually Martin finds them by now.”

“No, my Diamond. Lapis is my long time girlfriend who I was showing around the city,” Jasper cut in, fear clearly laced in her tone.

“And you brought her down here with you?” the Diamond’s voice was colder and somewhat suspicious.

“I insisted to come with her, and I did meet Martin. He’s a bit of a blood sucker if you ask me,” Lapis spoke quickly trying to divert the conversation. Lapis finally looked up from the ground to see the ruler’s head perk up a bit so that her mouth was exposed to the dim light. A small smile was splayed on her lips.

“That _is_ an accurate way to describe Marty. I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble,” Blue Diamond said letting a bit of playfulness slip into her frigid voice.

“No, we had a small conversation and after that he buzzed off pretty quickly.”

At that Blue Diamond gave a small laugh and the room felt like it heated up a bit. “You may rise. And tell me Miss Lazuli, what city do you hail from?”

“Cerulean Harbor City, my Diamond.”

“Ah, I could tell you were from my district. And you serve in the military with Jasper?”

“Yes, I’m working to become a rigging master, my Diamond.”

The queen hummed in approval, “I’m sure you will with enough time. Now it was nice to speak for a bit, but I must return to my duties.”

Blue Diamond shook her and Jasper’s hands with firmness and it took everything that Lapis had not to pull away quickly. It felt like touching the frostbitten skin of a day old cadaver rather than a living person. They watched the queen walk away into the darkness of the dungeon, Bleu trailing closely behind her. They waited until she was out of sight to walk back up the stairs. “You okay, Jas?” Lapis asked as they ascended.

“Yes,” Her voice still had fear in it and Lapis could guess what Blue Diamond made her see and probably threatened her with. “Hey, do your legs still hurt?”

“Ya, kinda-ah!” Lapis squeaked. Jasper picked her up bridal style and carried her up the stairs sometimes holding her closer than what was necessary. The conversation died.

 

“So kiddo, what do you think?” Lapis asked Steven.

“I’m not sure what to think. I mean you described her as so cold and frigid, but she laughed at puns and seemed to lighten up as she spoke to you,” Steven though aloud clearly confused.

“That’s because you should never just see one side of the person. A person is like a painting, you need to look at the whole picture to get an idea on what it’s about. The more you look at it the more individual strokes of the brush you can see,” Lapis said gently. _Damn that was good. I need to write that down later._

“Fuck all that shit! You punched a giant mosquito man!” Amethyst yelled fist pumping the air.

Lapis let out a long sigh, “Yes I did.”

“Everyone always says that the Diamonds were all bad, and they do seem terrible for what they did to those people. But, sometimes people tell me that mom did bad things too. I wonder how they were with each other and with the people they really care about.”

At this Peridot clapped her hands which drew the attention to her. She dug around in the small jail cell for a moment and showed everyone the small leather bound book that she brought up from the cave. _Oh, I forgot about that thing._ She tossed it to Lapis, ‘Read it out loud.’

Lapis opened the cover of the damaged book. The pages were yellowed and somewhat smudged, but the writing inside was still in surprisingly decent shape. “This is the personal journal of Pink P. Diamond Vol. 5. Please do not read. That means you, mom,” Lapis read out loud.

“That’s Pink Diamond’s journal? Peridot where the hell did you find this?” Amethyst asked her.

Peri shrugged.

“That must be the last thing that she wrote in before she-” Amethyst stopped catching herself.

They all looked at Steven who looked nervous and had wide eyes. “Lapis, can you read it? I want to know what happened. Pearl won’t tell me anything important about the war.”

“I don’t know Steven, there could be some really gnarly things in here. Maybe we should just give it to Pearl,” Lapis responded.

“No!” shouted both Amethyst and Steven.

“If we give it to Pearl we’ll never know what happened!”

“I need to know what my mom did!”

Amethyst was on edge and Steven looked like he was about to cry so Lapis turned to Peridot. “Do you think that their is anything in here that would be too much for us to handle?”

‘Nothing as gruesome as your last story.’

“Alright…” Lapis flipped to the first page of the mostly filled book. “It looks like the entries start before the war started. I’m only going to read the first couple and then I’ll skip to the end. Remember Steven, this might not have Rose in it depending on when it was...finished.”

Steven nodded and sat down in Amethyst’s lap while she wrapped her arms around him.

 

“Hell Ya! I finally convinced Yellow Diamond that I’m ready for my own district! They also finally gave me my own diamond necklace and full time servant! With mom’s help we sanctioned a place across the water to be my very own! Mom doesn’t want me to be too far away from her, but I’m excited for the adventure and to finally get out of the palace. She wanted me to take some of her sea districts, but I don’t want people who are already accustomed to mom’s rules. Besides they’re all sailors and fishmongers anyway. My people will be more diverse.

I feel like I haven’t been outside in forever and it’s absolutely amazing over there. There are so many trees and so many new animals. It’s full of new possibilities and I can’t wait to start construction. The only problem are the natives that live on the land already, but I think that we can make peace.

I bet mom thinks so too.”

The next one looked like it started a few weeks after the last.

“So the natives thing isn’t going as well as I hoped. I say that we should just make peace with them or buy the land from them, but Mom and Yellow Diamond just don’t want to do it! They are so damn frustrating. They gave me this district to run and I want to run it the way I think is best! I’ve watched them do it my whole life I know I can too.

We were in a meeting and Yellow yelled at me and said that I was acting like a child. Of course I would look like a child, she’s like ten thousand years old or something and I’m nineteen. The worst part was that mom didn’t even try to defend me here, she just sat quietly. Whatever. It’s my new colony, I decide what I’m going to do and I still want to try for peace before we start a war.

I know I can do this!”

Lapis decided not to skip around yet and read the next one.

“Twelve soldiers died today. There was a scuffle and no one can really give an accurate account on what happened, but it was probably their fault. It’s not like that it matters much because over fifty natives are dead. This means war is on the horizon and peace is finally off the table. I bet Yellow is happy. The natives may not have the advanced weapons that we have, but most of them can use magic, so I think we need to be careful.

I just feel so...empty. I caused those soldiers to die. They had family at home. They had friends. They had a life to go back to every single one of them. I don’t know how mom and the others were able to get over this fact when they first started waging wars. Maybe I should ask them.

I hope for the best.”

Lapis skipped a couple entries to a little bit into the war.

“I’m the captain of a ship now. It’s odd being in this heavy garb that’s meant for someone bigger, stronger, and older. When I look in the mirror all I can see is a small scared version of my mother. I barely know anything about being on a ship and everyone at my command is older and larger than I am. It’s scary and I hear the things they mutter when they think I’m not listening.

Even if I’m scared I know I need to try my best for my colony, but mom put me on patrol duty at the farthest point away from the action! I’ve trained with a sword all my life, and sure I’ve never been in a actual fight before, but I know I could hold my own. No one lets me make any of the battle strategies either which isn’t fair. It’s a war over my property I should be able to plan out the attacks.

I’m annoyed, but still hopeful.”

Lapis skipped further into the diary to almost the end of the war.

“Yellow is angry at me, as always. For most of the last war meeting all she would do is say things like I was too young to get my own colony and how they have to clean up my mess. Mom assured me afterwards that she’s still proud of me, but I can sense the disappointment and shame radiating off of her.

Sometimes, I feel that Yellow is right. That I wasn’t and I’m still not ready for the power and glory that they have. Perhaps I’ll never be ready for it. But now, I need to show them that I deserve to be a Diamond. I deserve the necklace around my neck. That I can be a good queen.

Please God, help me.”

Lapis gulped and flipped to the last date written which was the longest one she had seen.

“Today I disobeyed mom’s orders (shocker I know), and went closer to the battlefield. Almost immediately we were attacked by a rebel ship and my crew and I fought them well. However, we weren't good enough and were defeated but the leader of the rebellion, Rose Quartz. It’s a little funny actually. She was originally one of my soldiers and she defected to the other side along with White Diamond’s servant. It was a shame, I liked Pearl, but I guess not all servants are as loyal as Bleu.

Anyway, she boarded my ship and we went back to my cabin to speak. She was just as soft spoken and kind as I remember her being. She noticed immediately that I haven't aged since we last saw each other. I guess to her it was a shock. She aged five years and I still look like a scrawny nineteen year old kid.

We talked for a long time about many things. About the war and how both of us never really wanted this to happen, but circumstances are circumstances. She told me other things too about mom and the other queens that I want to be fake, but deep down I know they’re true. Like what happens to some of the war prisoners and the tortures of the harsh justice system we have.

The horror stories she told just got worse as she told of how they treat the common folk and mostly leave them to starve or commit complete genocide on those who resist to conform to their rules. You know, the things that no one tells you in the castle, but are eager to speak of in the outside world. I used to yearn to be like them, powerful, mighty, looked up to, but knowing what I know now I realized that I don’t want to be those things if it means being like that. Like them.

Rose Quartz spared me, as she is a kind soul and left with a wave and a kindly goodbye. I bid her a good life and a congratulations on her engagement as she went out the door. I’m sure both her crew and mine were confused when she walked outside with no blood on her and left just as quick as the appeared.

My chief engineer came in a few minutes ago and told me that in the attack the ship became damaged beyond repair and that we need to evacuate. I told him to do it. As for me, I don’t think I could ever go back and look at my mother’s face with admiration or even love ever again.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t win the war for my people. I’m sorry for all the people who died in the dungeons. I’m sorry for not knowing. I’m sorry, mom. When I was little Bleu once told me that the strongest chains we forge are the ones we forge ourselves. As my last testament, make me the chain to the anchor that is this vessel. If anything at least I can be a good captain for a good captain always goes down with her ship.

Out of hope and out of time. May God let me rest in peace.

~Pink Diamond.”

 

Lapis finally looked up to see Amethyst frowning and Steven silently crying. Even Peridot seemed to be affected by the sad emotions that were circulating through the cramped room. Suddenly Steven got up and wiped the tears from his face, “I need to be alone to think for a little while.” He ran away to another part of the ship while covering his face.

She felt some of her own tears slide down her face. Lapis sighed, “I think we all have to be alone for a little while.”

The conversation died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to using that body horror tag. Hope it was effective. Also, just ignore the fact that male mosquitoes don't drink blood.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot speaking  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

They all went their separate ways after the lesson had concluded with Steven walking away to an unknown part of the ship, Amethyst made her way to the kitchen to eat her feelings, Peridot stayed in their room to clean up, and Lapis ghosted her way upstairs. She found herself on the top deck and crossed her arms as she leaned over the railing to look at the sparkling water below. Her hand still clutched the leather bound book.

“I thought you decided to sit in on Steven’s lessons?” Pearl asked from behind her  

Lapis let out a loud sigh. “Yeah, but we got sidetracked…” She just continued to stare out into the water in a slight daze.

“By what? Steven didn’t ask you anything inappropriate did he? Oh my, I didn’t think it was time for that already!”

“What? No,” Lapis said finally looking at the captain. “He asked me about Rose and then we got on the topic of the Diamonds and it just went on from there. We’re done learning for today.”

“What did you tell him? You know that Steven isn’t ready to hear some of those stories about the war,” Pearl spoke unhappily.

“I told him the story of when I met Blue Diamond and we read a book that Peridot found which told us about Pink.” At that Lapis tossed the old journal over to Pearl who eyed it with caution. Lapis went back to staring out at the ocean, breathing in the salty air that usually made her calm. She didn’t know how long it took for Pearl to read the book, but she just continued to stare at the hypnotic waves.

“How did Steven take this information?” Pearl asked quietly after a while. She didn’t sound sad after reading it, like she was just accepting a fact written in stone.

“He left crying and said he wanted to be alone,” Lapis replied.

“I should go find him. He’ll need these things explained to him before he gets the wrong idea and-”

“You should have explained things to him beforehand, Pearl,” Lapis interrupted. “You also don’t seem to be expressing any emotion for her.”

Pearl frowned, “Why would I feel remorse for her? She was the spoiled rich princess who was given power she was never meant to have.”

“Because she was a kid?” Lapis retorted back. _A stupid kid who just found out what the world had to offer. Who didn’t even have time to talk things over with her family or fix any mistakes._

“She was no child when she died.”

“At the oldest she was twenty five and she still remained at age nineteen.” She knew that she wasn’t going to convince Pearl to feel something for the young monarch. _Fuck man, I couldn’t even follow the instructions of my superiors at that age._

“She still should have known better. Now if you excuse me, I need to find Steven.” Pearl turned to walk away.

“Wait, I think that we need talk.”

Pearl turned a heel and raised a brow, “We just spoke.”

“About other things.”

“Very well.”

Lapis took one last deep breath and turned away from the wobbling banister and followed Pearl into her room. They sat down in silence with only the creaking of the ship and the ticking of the clock to break it.

“What would you like to say to me Lapis?” Pearl said impatiently.

 _Here goes, Lapis. It’s time to make things right._ “I just-I regret some things that I’ve said and done to you in the past and I wanted to make it right.”

“Oh?” Pearl said in surprise.

“I’m sorry for leaving you and Steven when I did, I’m sorry for the number of headaches I know Peri and I cause around the ship, I’m sorry that I was a shitty person in general.” Lapis looked up to see Pearl’s pensive face.

“What happened to you Lapis?” Pearl asked.

“What?” Lapis asked confused. “I just told you that I was genuinely sorry for what I did and what I am currently do to you, and you ask what happened to me?”

“The Lapis that left me before would never have apologized for anything and she would have drank to her heart’s content and plowed through anyone who threw herself in her direction. Did Peridot really change you so much?” Pearl’s breathing was slow and her last question held another that she didn’t want to voice.

Lapis frowned. “I got older and I’m starting to deal with my problems.” _Who would have thought that spending a year and a half in almost complete isolation would be the best thing for me._

“In two years you managed to change your whole personality?”

“No Pearl, in two years I got some perspective on my life and you know what? I’m finally starting to move on,” Lapis said honestly.

“You sure did, you moved on from Steven and I very fast,” Pearl replied bitterly.

Lapis had to take another deep breath. _She’s really not making this easy._ She slowly reached out to Pearl’s hand and held it lightly. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. Pearl, it’s been over ten years and it’s time for both of us to move on. Do you really want to be depressed for the rest of your life?” 

The frail woman started to shake and quickly removed her hand from Lapis’ grip. “Like it’s so easy! Rose and I were nothing like you and Jasper.”

Rage wracked through Lapis’ body like she hadn’t known in quite some time. _Calm down Lapis, she’s hurt like anyone in her position would be._ “I loved Jasper just as much as you love Rose, and we’re more similar than you think. We were both miserable in our respective relationship and they both hurt us in a major way. Now that I’m moving on my life has gotten so much better.”

Pearl’s face contorted in a way that made it look like she was trying to hold onto tears. “How did you do it so easily?”

“Easily? I’ve been fucked up for years,” Lapis said with an eye roll. “But surprisingly enough talking to people about your problems actually works. It helps you work through them and with enough time they fade like scars.”

“How can I move on when I still think about her all the time? When she made me everything I am?! When Steven is still here?!” Pearl challenged.

“Personally, Peridot helped me through a lot of rough nights and I decided to change a few things about myself. I can only give you advice Pearl, it’s up to you to figure out the answer to those questions. I can think of a lovely purple haired almost midget who is more then willing to listen to anything you say.”

A couple strained water droplets fell from Pearl’s flushed face, “Are you actually happy?”

Lapis paused and many memories from the last two years of her life flashed before her that were filled with cuddling sessions with Peridot, laughing with Amethyst, and various interactions with the crew members. “Yeah, I am.”

Pearl looked up to her with wet, but hope filled eyes. She recovered quickly taking a couple deep breaths and adjusting her hair and clothes to look more neat and tidy. Pearl quickly cleared her throat, “While we are discussing important topics I would like to know if you and Peridot would like to become contracted members of The Crystal Gem?”

“What?” Lapis asked, taken back by the offer. “We’re only supposed to stay on the ship until we reach Homeland.”

“Yes, but I am interested in making the two of you contracted members of the crew.” All traces of their previous conversation were gone as Pearl’s face was now serious and business like. _Ah, there is the stone cold salty sea bitch who can fight the seven seas._

Lapis hesitated. “I’m going to have to decline. I’m sorry, I haven’t lived on land as a free woman since before I was fourteen. Peri and I want to go out and experience new things and I want to open up my own business.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought you were the type to settle down.”

 _I guess we never really talked about anything like this when we were a sorta couple._ “I mean, I wouldn’t call it settling down because Peri isn’t my wife or anything, but kinda joint living arrangement for mutual benefit,” Lapis nervously rambled.

Pearl gave her a wicked smile, “Sure, sure. I’m just throwing it out there, but Jay can marry couples and have it official in Homeland and I can marry them so it is official in New Colony.”

 _Ugh. Go back to being a bitch. I still got to talk to Sapphire about feelings and relationships and shit._ “Thanks for the offer though,” Lapis said. She stood up and outstretched her hand to Pearl who was still smiling slyly. _It’s kinda funny really, in a different time and place perhaps we really could have made it work._

“The offer won’t expire anytime soon, so if you find yourself in need of employment in case something happens on land you’re always welcome here. And thank you for the discussion we had earlier. It really put things into perspective.” She met Lapis’ hand and they shook firmly to close out the transaction. Pearl gave her the leather bound book back before Lapis headed out to the top deck.

This time when Lapis took a deep breath and exhaled it seemed like the her world was a little better than before. Later that night at dinner Pearl was noticeably happier and talked to Amethyst more adamantly than usual. She even tried to flirt with the younger woman a couple times which was very amusing due to Pearl’s comical attempts and Amethyst’s surprised flustered expressions.

It certainly made being up on deck easier and over the next few days, she actually had a few more pleasant conversations with the captain. “You know Pearl we should get some storm sails just in case,” Lapis said to her in one of their many passing talks.  

“I don’t think they are a good investment because they take too long to raise and they are very heavy. The ship would move too slow if we had them.”

“You know how rough the sea could be. If we get caught in a strong enough storm-”

Lapis was cut off by the sound of the alarm bell going off from the crow’s nest. “Ship!” Skinny yelled pointing to an approaching vessel behind them.

“What type of ship is it!?” Pearl yelled back up.

“Looks like a Homeland military ship.”

“Shit,” Pearl muttered under her breath. “Everyone get into military position!” she yelled as she started to walk back to her cabin with Jay behind her.

The crew started to scrambled around and Lapis followed them into the captain “Pearl what does that mean?” Lapis asked.

Jay put on a captain’s coat and hat while Pearl rushed around the cabin to gather things hastily. She tore through the organized cabin knocking objects over and spreading papers everywhere. “We need to go below deck and hide with the others who were in the war in case someone recognizes us. Jay is technically the captain of this vessel since it is registered under her name in Cerulean Harbor. Hopefully they won’t want to search the whole ship,” she finished. Pearl and Jay went over all the paperwork which took longer than what Lapis was comfortable with.

Pearl grabbed her hand and they when they were outside they saw that the Homeland ship was quickly closing in on them. _Hell, that must be one of the newer redesigned ships that are made to be fast._ Even the crew members around deck were running around checking things and getting ready for the ship to be boarded. They went to the back of the kitchen and hid behind many of the barrels of food and whale oil so that even if the other ship had dogs they wouldn’t be found.

When they sat down behind the barrels both her and Pearl immediately noticed that very important people were missing, “Where is Steven?” Pearl asked Sapphire anxiously.

“I would have thought that you or Lapis would have him because he was with Peridot in instruction,” Sapphire replied her voice filled with remorse.

“What?!” Pearl yelled in a shrill voice. “Both you and Garnet have future vision! How could you have not known that he wouldn’t be with us!”

At this Lapis rose out of the hiding place and Pearl went to follow her. “No Pearl, stay here and I’ll go find them.”

“No, I have to go find Steven and make sure he’s safe!”

Lapis looked right into other woman’s eyes, “If you get out of here and someone from that ship sees you, they will know who you are and they will kill you. They have no idea who Peridot and Steven are and I fought on their side so I should be fine anyway. I’ll be right back.”

Pearl looked heart broken but crept back into the hiding place as Lapis left. She searched the immediate bottom area and her and Peridot’s bedroom until she ran into a familiar face. “Hey Lavender, have you seen Peridot and Steven?” Lapis asked frantically.

The large lady was leaning against the banister that lead up stairs and unlike the other crew members she looked very at easy. “I saw her to go upstairs,” Lavender informed her. “Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sorry, Lavender, but I really need to find them before the ship is boarded,” Lapis said frantically running past her. She was sure that Lavender said something else to her, but Lapis ignored her even when Lavender chased her up the stairs.

When she got back on deck she noticed that the Homeland ship, the Sun Incinerator, was almost right next to them. Most of the crew of the Crystal Gem was standing at attention to their new captain, and Peridot was with Steven in plain sight. Lapis quickly ran to them, “We need to get below deck, now!”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Sharky whispered to them. “You’ll be in direct view of the other ship’s crew. It’ll look suspicious if they see you guys running below deck now.”

 _Right._ Lapis quickly pushed them in Pearl’s cabin. “Hide in here. Don’t let anyone see you two.”

The plank dropped and Captain Emerald boarded their ship while looking around with general disdain. _Of fucking course it’s Emerald. Fuck you God._ Emerald is a tall imposing woman with soaring spiky green hair. She wore an eyepatch over her right eye due to an injury from the war which often caused her to have bad depth perception and aim.

Lapis got in line with the rest of the crew members as Emerald began her speech. “I’m Captain Emerald of the ship the Sun Incinerator of Homeland’s master fleet. Now I’m here to inspect your ship.”

At this Jay stepped forward, “Ah yes, I already have all the papers ready for you to look at.”

Emerald took the papers as if she didn’t want to touch them and started to look through them. “You know this is the ship that was the main ship used in the war to fight against Homeland,” Emerald deadpanned.

“Yeah,” Jay answered confidently. “Got it for very cheap.”

“I can see how you can afford this operation then. Now my crew and I need to inspect your cargo. Make sure you’re not carrying anything you’re not supposed to.” The way she said it made it sound like they were guilty of peddling drugs.

Jay, Emerald, and about five members of the Sun Incinerator went below deck to the storage hull. No one talked as the others went below deck and pretended to go about their daily duties of fixing and cleaning while being watched intently by the military crew. Lapis went up to the ship’s wheel to try to get out of view of everyone. A small beeping sound was heard from the other ship, but Lapis couldn’t place what was causing the noise.

It took awhile for the others to come back up, but it seemed that Jay worked her magic and had an idle conversation going on with Emerald. “You seem to have everything in order with your paperwork and items. I would also like to say congratulations on such a good hull when you found that whale carcass.”

“Thank you,” Jay replied smoothly.

Emerald started to turn away when she suddenly shifted her head and looked straight at Lapis as if she knew that she would be up there. “I thought I saw something blue before.”

“Hello, Emerald,” Lapis said. She walked over to the upper railing trying to not get too close to the woman. _Fuuuuccckkk. Why did she have to notice me._

“Lapis Lazuli. I didn’t think I would ever see Jasper’s little toy ever again especially with her being reported dead by Jasper herself,” Emerald said with a sharp toothed smile.

Anger started to rise through Lapis once more. “Yeah, that’s me. Defying death everyday,” Lapis responded and tried to put a good natured laugh at the end, but it ended up sounding nervous.

Emerald looked her up and down quickly. “My, my, it seems you’ve done more than defy death lately. New clothes, job, and your demeanor suggests that you’re either someone’s new pet or you’ve run into some fortune.”

“You could say that I’ve had some good fortune recently.” She said this in a strained voice.  

“I guess you’ve brought good luck to the ship as well, seeing the recent affluence of whale oil.”

“Yeah, I guess. It was...nice to see you again, Emerald,” Lapis lied quickly trying to end the conversation.

“Looking to get rid of me so soon? Well, I suppose that I do need to be on my way.” Emerald was about to step back on her ship when a small woman came running to her with some sort of contraption in her hands. She whispered something to Emerald which prompted the woman to gesture to her crew who started to advance on the Crystal Gem. “I’m going to have to search the ship.”

“But Miss Emerald, you already went through all our containers,” Jay said speaking up. She still looked as confident as ever, but Lapis could hear a hint of worry in her tone.

The device in the woman’s hands started to react more when it was pointed at Pearl’s cabin. Emerald gave her a sideways glance and the woman-who surprisingly looked like Ruby only with a large belly button ring-nodded back to her in confirmation. _Oh Shit. Oh Fuck. Oh Man. That bitch must have a magic detector. Is Peridot making it go off or-_ suddenly Lapis remembered the scuffle in the cabin earlier when things were knocked around in a hurry.

“More specifically I’m going to have to search your cabin, Captain Jay. Unless there is something you want to tell or get for me now.”

Jay glanced at Lapis for some indication for what they should do and Lapis gave her a slight head shake. “We have nothing to show you and nothing to hide,” Jay said with finality.

Emerald raised a brow, “My dear captain, you’ve been so compliant until now. Fortunately for me I don’t need your permission to search your room because I have reason to suspect you are harboring something of major importance.”

More of Emerald’s crew started to come onto the ship to the point that there was almost one of them for every crew member of the Crystal Gem. She started to saunter closer to the door when Lapis spoke up, “Emerald, you shouldn’t go in there.”

The captain turned to her with a challenging smile, “And you think that you can tell me what to do?”

“It’s a warning.”

“Oh?” Emerald questioned. Her hand went to her hilt where a gun was hidden. “You know Lapis you really shouldn’t be ordering me around. After all you are still classified as a traitor to Homeland, I could easily take you and bring you back to Jasper.”

Lapis pushed the rage and fear she felt down and put her own hand on the hilt of her gun. “I’m not getting off this ship. If you open that door you may not either.”

Emerald’s hand firmly grasped her weapon, “Is that a threat? I should really take you back to Jasper so she could beat some sense back into you.”

They drew their weapons and two gunshots rang out through the still air. Emerald cried out in pain and clutched her hand while Lapis steadied herself. A fight was about to break out between the crew when Emerald silenced them, “Shut it! Fine Lapis, you have your way, I won’t go and search the cabin. Jones you do it!”

One of the larger crew members took the order with no emotion showing on their face and walked to the door. “I still wouldn’t do it. We keep something in there and it will make sure you guys won’t leave the ship.”

Jones hesitated for a moment, “I’m not afraid of anything that could possibly be behind this door.”

Everyone’s eyes were solely on Jones as they opened the door and walked into the room. They left the door open as they walked in and from the point of view from an outsider they could only see the right hand side of the room. Emerald gave Lapis a smug smile, “You see anything in there?”

“No, looks like to be a bunch of books and-hello there sweetheart are you the monster that the blue devil said they were keeping in here? You don’t look like a monster to me.” Jones went quiet for a second. “No no, you can trust me my lovely, you don’t need to back away. What are you hiding behind-AGH!”

It sounded like a fight broke out with multiple things falling to the floor and more noise indicating a scuffle with Jones’ screaming sprinkled in. For a brief moment Jones’ hand and upper torso come into view while struggling to get away from something. The door slammed shut and the screaming only get louder. “Get away from me! Get AWAY from me! Help! HELP!” Scratching and kicking was heard from the outside.   

“What the fuck is that?!” Emerald yelled at Lapis.

“A monster. It’s only your own fault this happened,” Lapis said backing away which signaled the rest of her crew to do so as well. Some of Emerald’s crew tried to inch back onto their ship to distance themselves and others put their hands on their weapons. _I really hope Peri doesn't take it too far._

“Popov, Hansen, Frandsen, go in the room!” Emerald barked.

The three looked at each other with unsure faces and took one step forward before a large snapping sound was heard from the inside of the room. The screams went silent. The door suddenly slammed open and Jones’ mangled body flied out landing on their stomach without the thrower being visible. They were cut all over and it looked like their arm had been snapped in half with a white bone poking out. They were breathing, but barley and seemed to be trying to gasp, but only succeeded in making strangled gurgling noises.

Peridot’s heavy metal steps sounded as she came into view with blood smeared on her skirt, hands, and around her mouth. Once she was out in the open, Peridot observed the crowd in her normal human looking self. If it weren’t for the blood the beautiful young woman walking out behind the fallen person would look odd and serial. Jones tried to stretch out their arm to Emerald and when Peridot saw that she quickly brought her foot down on their only good arm.

The beeping from the machine got louder as it was pointed at Peridot which drew her attention to it. She willed the machine out of the small woman’s hands and brought it over to her resulting in the beeping to get louder. Peridot hissed at it loudly, spraying blood on the device and tried to pry it open with sharp nails.  

“Kill it!” Emerald yelled to the rest of her crew. The ones who tried to shoot their guns quickly found them jammed and the ones with swords watched as the blades flew out of their hands. After that everyone who advanced stopped and backed away from Peridot who was still primarily focused on the device. “What are you all doing?! I don’t care how you do it or how many of you get killed in the process. I told you to kill it!”

At that Peridot’s eyes glanced to Emerald and noticeably got more tense and shifted to be slightly less human, but before she pounced Peridot looked to Lapis. ‘What should I do with her?’

“Don’t hurt her,” Lapis responded. At Lapis’ response Peridot’s attention went back to the beeping device in her hands.

Emerald’s attention however, turned to Lapis, “Is this what you get paid to do on this ship? To look after what you called a monster? Like it’s your pet?”

“Just leave Emerald. You know we don’t have whatever it is you’re looking for and I’ll tell Peridot to give Jones back.”

“Adorable, you even gave it a name. But, I do suppose you’re right,” Emerald said. She glanced down at Jones’ wet eyes with contempt. “You can keep them. Like that they will just be a liability to me, I could just say they died of sickness. Your ship passed inspection. Have a nice day.” Then Emerald reboarded her ship and the rest of the crew followed. “Except you, you can stay here.” She said to the woman who once held the indicator and pushing her so she fell on the deck of the Crystal Gem.

“Wh-what? Why?!”

“Because I have no use for failures who can’t do their jobs.”

Everyone watched the Sun Incinerator sail away and welcomed their new crew members one of which was bleeding profusely on the floor boards. “You’re not going to order it to attack me are you?” the woman said in a shaky voice. The woman’s name was Navy and was the former master magic detector professional.

“No, she only attacks you if you look good enough to eat,” Lavender said.

The woman looked terrified before Lapis spoke up again, “She’s not going to harm you. Now Peridot, end Jones quickly no healing potion is going to fix that.”

“Oh, look you’re commanding the mermaid monster to kill a human,” Lavender pointed out.

Peridot stopped her foot on the ground to get Lavender’s attention and once she did Peridot twirled her wrist which caused Jones’ head to spin around with a sickening crack. Their lifeless eyes were wide and open staring at Lavender. It took a moment, but eventually Jones opened their mouth, “Fuck you, Lavender.” The words were choked and mangled like the body on the floor, but were unmistakable.

Lavender looked like she finally realized that Peridot actually had a voice and turned away from the sight. The rest of the crew was trying to advert their eyes away from the mess as well. _While that comment was warranted._ “You’re not supposed to stay stuff like that. Now throw her overboard.”

‘No.’

Lapis was taken back, “What? Why not?”   

Peridot suddenly looked very serious as she knelt down next to the body, ‘I’m hungry.’

A shiver went through Lapis. “Then go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. You are not eating that corpse,” she said firmly.

‘Yes I am. I’m hungry and I am not your pet. You can not tell me what to do.’

“This isn’t about you being my pet or not, which you’re not. Humans don’t eat other humans.”

‘Mermaids do. They used to be alive and human and now they are food, you and the others are welcome to dine with me, but you will not hinder me from doing as I please.’ She knelt down to the still warm body and shifted her mouth so it was full of sharp teeth.

“You’re not actually going to let her eat them are you?” Jay asked voicing the uncomfortable feelings of the crowd.

“I can’t do anything about it,” Lapis responded looking away.

Peridot was about to sink her teeth into Jones’ neck when her eyes darted around to her new family who all looked scared and appalled. It caused her to pause and tilt her head slightly while looking at them. She gave a silent huff and used her powers to lift the limp body up and threw it overboard. ‘I’m going down stairs,’ Peridot mouthed quickly before walking away.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. “You going to go talk to her about this?” Jay asked concerned.

“Yeah in a second,” Lapis said with a sigh. She first went into Pearl’s cabin and found Steven hiding securely under the large desk. “You okay, buddy?” Lapis asked tenderly.

The boy looked like he had a thousand yard stare, “I don’t want to be on the ship anymore.”

Lapis hugged him tightly, “It’s okay, buddy. This is something that doesn’t happen often. Why don’t I take you down to Pearl?” He nodded and Lapis lifted him up so he was in her arms and she carried him down stairs. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. No one on the crew died or even got hurt.”

“There was so much screaming,” Steven cried quietly.

She went back to the kitchen to where Pearl and the others were. “You guys can come out now, the military is gone.” They emerged from the corner and Lapis placed Steven down to the floor so he could run over to Pearl.

“Steven are you okay!? What happened?! You’re not hurt are you!?” Pearl yelled as she clutched Steven to her.

Lapis allowed herself to smile at the small display before she turned to go back to her room. _Today’s a real rough day._ She approached the dark cell with caution and knocked on the metal bars. “Peri, do you want to talk about anything? You seemed rather...intense upstairs.”

No response from the dark room.

“Come on, we just had a conversation about this. You need to be able to tell me what’s bothering you.” After a moment the bars opened and Lapis was able to step inside the room. Peridot was sitting on their bed with her feet to her chest looking very downtrodden. Lapis sat down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  

Peridot took a deep breath, ‘I’m so scared and confused about all of the information that I’ve been gathering. Many people have been saying that I am like a pet to you and I understand the concept, but when Lavender and Emerald called me that it sounded so condescending! I have gathered that you are not supposed to treat beings that you consider equal like that. But then I thought about it and it does seem that you order me around a lot and I do everything that you tell me to do with no hesitation.’

Lapis was taken back from the long dialogue. “Listen, you are not my pet, I don’t own you in any way. Don’t ever think that!” Lapis yelled. _I could never. I would never treat her like that. Like she is something that I own that I could do anything that I want to._ “I just tell you to do some things because I want you to seem more human and fit in with society.”

Peridot nodded and looked away.

“Is that why you didn’t want to throw away the body?” Lapis asked.

The mermaid had trouble looking Lapis in the eyes again. ‘Well, you are always going on about how I need to be more and more human, but you never make an effort to be more like me.’

“What do you mean?”

‘You never even asked what a normal being in my species does. I’ve assimilated so much. I stay in this form, I eat your gross charred food, and I conform to your societal rules while you do nothing to emulate me,’ Peridot answered bluntly.

“Oh...” Lapis said. It was the only thing she could think to say. _How could I have not noticed this?_ “I’ll start. I promise,” Lapis finally said looking into Peridot’s eyes. “Is this everything you’ve been upset with?”

‘No, but this is good for now.’ Peridot gave her a lovely soft smile and touched Lapis’ forehead with her own. ‘Thank you.’

“Anything for you,” Lapis replied truthfully. They sat and enjoyed each other’s company for a bit before a stray thought popped into Lapis’ head. “Hey, why did the machine beep at you when it got closer to you?”

Peridot blinked and started to heave until she coughed up the pink diamond necklace and presented it to Lapis proudly.

Lapis looked at the jewelry with mild disgust. “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was exciting!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This" is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

After Lapis got over the mild disgust of Peridot throwing up the dead queen’s necklace--and the slight realization that at some point she probably ate said queen--she looked at her with determination. “Alright Peri, you said I needed to act a more like one of your group members, what does that mean exactly?” 

Peridot clapped her hands together with excitement. ‘There isn’t much to learn just a few gestures and activities!’ She grabbed one of Lapis’ hands lightly and traced a thumb over her forehead with her other hand. ‘I’ve observed many common forms of physical communication between the crew members and gladly found that many of them are the same between my species and yours.’

“Oh really?” 

The mermaid nodded her head, ‘Many things like comforting and playful touches shown by light strokes to the shoulder or face region. Subtle eye movements and facial expressions are the same as well. Perhaps I was too hard before because we already perform a few of these motions. I’m sure you guessed that touching foreheads is a greeting and a way to say goodbye.’

“What does it mean to you guys when you rub and stroke my back?” Lapis asked. The motion was something that she remembered fondly being one of the ways that Peridot comforts her after nightmares.

‘It can mean different things. Stroking from the neck down to the mid back is a common comforting technique between mothers and their children and other members of the group.’

Lapis raised a brow, “What does it mean when it’s below mid back?”

‘Oh, that is usually reserved for the mating pair along with a few other motions, but we can discuss that later if you wish,’ Peridot mouthed with a wave of her hand. ‘Like I mentioned before my species has no written history, so you have not much to learn there, but we do have a few traditions like reading the stars, creating personalized necklaces for each other, and braiding shells into each other’s hair. I’ll be right back.’

Peridot hopped up and went out of view as Lapis continued to sit on the bench. _Not much to learn, but it all seems so important to her. Why didn’t she tell me of this beforehand? Not sure if I’m going to ask her about their courtship rituals specifically. I think I’ve gotten enough information to just go for it._ Peridot came back into the room with a basket that contained shells, scales, and seaweed. “Where did you get all this?”

‘The kitchen. These are the scraps that Ruby and Sapphire keep off to the side as trash. Well, they call it trash, I think that everything here can be useful.’    

Lapis nodded, and Peridot turned around taking half of the items with her. She played with her hair and Lapis got her intention at once. _Goddammit I never learned how to braid shit. I guess growing up alone and half in a brothel will do that to you though._ She had to focus completely to try to place shells and scales in the blonde locks without outright tying them in it.

After a while Lapis huffed, “Alright, I’m sorry but this is the best that I can do.” Peridot turned around and Lapis could see just how silly she made her look. _I bet it would look better underwater._    

‘I’m sure it looks perfect,’ Peridot mouthed with a smile. Then she lifted a kelp necklace with purple pieces of coral, pure white bits of shell, and a large lapis lazuli stone entangled in it.

Lapis took the necklace as if it was made of thin paper that could easily tear. “Where did you get the stone?”

‘You don’t recognize it? You did when we first met,’ she mouthed playfully.

“I can’t believe that you brought it.” Lapis slipped the necklace over her. “It’s perfect. Do you have the peridot, so I can make you one?” The triangular stone was tossed at her which she caught easily. To put it lightly the jewelry that Lapis made did not look as good or as well made as the one that Peri created. The peridot was in the center—albeit a bit crooked—and just like with the braiding Lapis had to end up tying the rest of the items into it. _You would think that she’d help me instead of just staring at me as I twiddle with this._

She handed it over being somewhat embarrassed by the end product, but Peridot accepted it happily all the same. ‘It’s perfect.’

Lapis had to look away and clear her throat, “Thanks.” _For lying._ “What now? Are we going to make the rest of the crew their own necklaces?”

Peridot shook her head and placed a hand over Lapis’ and looked into her eyes with an emotion Lapis couldn’t quiet place. An odd mix of kindness, patience, and delight. ‘No. This is a tradition that is done to signify that you have found your place in your group and usually it is made by the ones that are closest to you. We will soon leave this ship together, so we alone are each other’s group.’

“Oh…” At that moment it really hit Lapis that they would soon be without their surrogate family, but the importance of Peridot’s words didn’t escape her either. _We’re going to be alone._ “Peri, what do you think of us leaving the ship and staying on land?”

‘It doesn’t matter to me where we go. I will follow you to where ever you want to reside.’

“So, if we were to not live on land after we get to Homeland, but just visit for a bit you wouldn’t be mad?”

Peridot shook her head, ‘My species is constantly on the move with no home base. Do whatever you need.’

Lapis pulled her into a light embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered in Peridot’s ear.

When they pulled away they touched foreheads and relaxed into each other’s hold. _It’s so nice to just be relaxing with someone._ As they cuddled something dropped to the floor with a small clank. “Oh shit, I should probably give this back to Pearl before she starts freaking,” Lapis said as she picked up the forgotten diamond necklace. She stood and only lingered for a moment before making her way back upstairs.

As she emerged from the depths of the ship the crew turned to her and looked her over. “So, you talked to Peridot?” Carnelian asked.

“Ya, she’s not angry anymore. No need to worry for your safety.” Lapis responded making her way to Pearl’s door.

“Did you tell her that killing a human is wrong?” Lavender piped up.

Lapis stopped at the door to turn to her for a second before going in. “Nope.” She stepped into the cabin and noticed that papers were still flown about, and blood was painted on the walls and floor. Pearl looked disheveled and was working hurriedly at her desk while Steven was sleeping in the bed, but not soundly. “Hey Pearl.”

She looked up, “Lapis.”

_Ugh she sounds angry. I thought we were over this._ Lapis walked over to Pearl quietly and placed Pink Diamond’s necklace on her desk. “Peridot ate this for a bit and I thought you would like it back.”

Pearl snatched the necklace and placed it back in its metal case and turned back to Lapis. “Do you have any idea how long Steven was crying for?” Pearl asked in a hushed angry tone.

Lapis blinked. “He didn’t even see them die, he should be back to normal in a couple hours.”

“He said that the screaming was unbearable. Witnessing something like that is very traumatic for an eleven-year-old Lapis, this should be common knowledge.”

“I saw my first corpse around that age. Plus, you’d think he would know that these things happened during the war and they happen all the time to real pirates.”

“She didn’t have to be that brutal! You guys are on this ship and the one rule I thought you would follow would be that crew members of the Crystal Gem don’t kill people!” Pearl said her voice rising.

“Hypocritical from you,” Lapis pointed out. Before the revolution had really gained a following Pearl had the nickname of the renegade slave because she would target any upperclassmen who owned others and ended them mercilessly.

Pearl took a deep breath, “I managed to learn that killing isn’t right and by killing I am no better than the Diamonds I used to serve, so I don’t kill anymore. You obviously haven’t learned that yet.”

“Death and murder happen. Personally, I think that murder in self-defense is okay, and you know that necklace wasn’t the only thing that she was protecting,” Lapis said as she gestured to Steven.

“You’re setting a bad example for her. Once you get to Homeland she’s going to kill again.”

“She can understand that humans aren’t supposed to kill each other."

“I know you don’t care about following the laws, but it’s a very selfish to withhold them from her just so you don’t seem like a bad human.”

Lapis left silently in a much worse mood than what she arrived in and made her way past the others swiftly. _Goddamn it, I already know I’m a shitty person. She doesn’t need to accuse me of trying to hide it._ She was grumbling to herself when she made it back down to Peridot who greeted her with open arms.

For the next few days she tried to pretend that Pearl’s words didn’t bother her and the fact that a lot of the crew was stiff around them didn’t hurt. Everyone was still nice to them and Steven even resumed his studies with Peridot, but she could tell that something was different. Lavender’s accusing stare that bore into Peridot were more prevalent than ever. To make matters worse the ship had been constantly rocking during this time.

Lapis grimaced as she heard her partner wretch. She was currently patting Peridot’s back as she violently vomited off the side of the ship. _Man, I'm glad that me and most of the crew are used to this shit._ After a few minutes Peridot finally straightened herself out and could look at Lapis. “You know I would have thought that you wouldn't get seasick from living in the water,” Lapis said with sympathy.

‘I lived in the water, not on top of it bobbing like a small glacier in the wind and waves. I was also more adapted before,’ Peridot explained. She looked like she was going to say something else when the boat lurched along with her stomach causing Peridot to empty its few contents.

Lapis put her hand on Peridot’s back once more and made soothing motions. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

When Peridot brought her pale head back up all she mouthed was, ‘Water.’

It was one of the fastest errands that Lapis had ever completed. When she brought the glass up to her, Peridot downed half of it quickly and splashed the rest of it on her. “Ummm...Peri?” Lapis asked.

‘Keep pouring water on me until I figure this out,’ Peridot instructed. Then she transformed into her mermaid form and fell face first to the deck.

Lapis frowned when she heard Peridot’s body hitting the floor but followed the instruction anyway. As Lapis poured more water on her, Peridot would shift various parts of her body. Occasionally some crew members would watch as Peridot shifted and let out multiple cries and hisses while writhing around on the floor. Most—especially Navy—gave Peridot a wide birth and made sure to stay away from her while in that form.

At some point Pearl came out of her quarters with a very pale looking Steven. He quickly ran to the side of the ship and vomited. “How long?” Lapis asked simply.

“Oh, all morning he's been queasy and pale! This is the first time he's thrown up though,” Pearl answered. She patted his back and helped him back down on the deck. “This is why fixing these banisters are so important. If this one was as week as the other then Steven would have fallen in,” Pearl grumbled.

“What-” Steven started, but had to swallow and take a deep breath, “what are you doing out here, Lapis?”

Lapis just looked at them and poured another glass of water on Peridot who then flopped around on deck. Both Pearl and Steven looked down, “why is Peridot on the deck like that?” Pearl asked with a frown.

“That's what she looks like normally! She's so cool!” Steven yelled. _You know thank god he is so merciful, and Pearl likes her so much. They are the few people who don’t give a fuck what she is._

“She's been seasick all morning as well, so she's in that form to feel better and I think find a way to look human, but not get sick. And yes, she is really cool,” Lapis said.

At that Peridot changed back to her mostly human form and Lapis helped her back up. Nothing was all that different in her form, but something about her ears were off. ‘I think you all look really cool as well,’ she mouthed to Lapis.

Lapis smiled, “so what did you do?”

‘I changed my inner ear a bit so that my balance is different. It seems to be working for now,’ Peridot explained.

Lapis relayed the information back to Pearl and Steven who were watching quietly. “I wish you could have found a way to fix the seasickness for regular humans,” Steven said dejectedly. The ship lurched once more which caused Steven to look queasier.

Peridot frowned and lifted her hand so that random bits of metal were gathered and molded together to form a thin metal plate. She floated it so that it was right above Steven’s feet and gestured for him to get on which he did, stepping onto it slowly. Now when the boat moved he was floating in the air and he didn’t feel it. “This is great! Thanks Peridot!” Steven said.

Pearl on the other hand looked at Peridot with worry, “Is this safe? Are you sure that you can sustain that?”

Peridot flexed her stick arms to show off her (small) muscles, ‘If I can move this ship for hours at a time I can lift a child to keep him from getting sick.’ So, it was decided that Peridot would carry Steven on the plate until the seas would calm along with his stomach.  

Only the seas did not calm.

It was obvious now that they were sailing straight into a storm with how much the wind had picked up and the dark overcast that seemed to stretch on to infinity. It was late at night by the time the rains came pouring down from the heavens above as if all the ghosts from the past were mourning themselves. Pearl sent Sapphire, Peridot, and Steven to her quarters while the rest of the crew made their way to the top deck and tied ropes to themselves to not fall off the ship.

_This is bad._ Her and Garnet were the sails experts on board, but storms were dangerous, and it was a tactical blunder to not prepare for it earlier in the day. One of the hardest parts of being in a storm was moving the ship so that they were sailing into the oncoming waves at just the right angle to escape with no damage. Pearl was doing her best at the wheel, but the rocking of the ship and constant moving of the water made it especially difficult.

They all tried to keep everything steady as the waves towered over them and sometimes crashed onto the open deck which caused flooding for a few minutes until it would either flow back out through the banisters of the ship or down below. When one wave hit the ship with particular force, Lapis heard a familiar yell and she saw a streak of purple fly off the ship. “Shit! Someone help me!” Lapis yelled. Luckily, Skinny and Jay must have heard her because they were right over pulling the straining rope so Amethyst was back with them. She was drenched and looked half like a drowned rat, but she was breathing and back on board.  

Unfortunately, with Lapis distracted for the briefest of moments a huge crack rang out that was so loud it cut through the howling wind and thundering sky. _ShitshitshitshitSHIT!_ The biggest sail with the crow’s nest was suddenly falling towards them because it was not adjusted correctly in a way to withstand the winds. Lapis could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she closed her eyes to brace herself to be crushed by the descending pillar.

_Wait I’m not squashed right now._ Lapis opened her eyes to see Peridot out of Pearl’s chambers and very obviously using her powers to hold up the sail. She was clearly straining, as shown by her shaking arms and scrunched face most likely due to the minimal amount of metal on the structure and its very large weight.   

Lapis ran up to her, “Just throw it overboard! It will only get in the way.”

Peridot nodded and puffed out her cheeks, the water falling from her face mixing with sweet. _Dear lord. I probably should have told her to only throw the thing far enough away so that the ship wouldn’t hit it._ Peridot didn’t just place the sail next to the ship, no, she may as well have given it her best throw to send the damn thing careening far out to open water.

Another tremendous wave hit the ship, so Lapis quickly grabbed onto Peridot to make sure she wouldn’t fall off from not being tied down. When the water drained around them she was only mildly surprised when the other woman proved to be the most stationary thing on the ship. _Metal powers. Right._ Peridot’s feet were firmly planted on the ground and she was hugging Lapis back trying to keep her steady.

_Now that’s taken care of, time to man the rest of the sails._ With Peridot’s extra help they were able to keep the remaining two sails under control. No one else fell off the ship and it seemed like the worst was over until they suddenly felt the ship get pulled backwards and high up in the sky. Lapis’ heart stopped when she realized that they were riding on top of a very high rogue wave.

Her blood turned to ice and she started to shake as the wind only picked up when they were over fifty feet away from normal sea level. The rain felt like needles on the skin and Lapis’ eyes welled with her own salty tears as the wave began to crash. Everyone was panicking now some abandoning all common-sense downing something in a glass and jumping off the side into the watery hell.  Others were praying asking for forgiveness, and few had a clear enough conscious to say goodbye to the person next to them. _This is it. This is where we all die. If there was ever a plus to this, it actually feels like I’m flying._

Everything picked up speed almost to the point where one could be lifted from the ground until the wind actually started to slow making it obvious that they transferred to a gradual descent. The boat was more still than it had ever been before even in calm seas. Lapis peered over the banister and didn’t see any water holding up the ship. _What the…_ She looked around and saw Peridot straining even more than before with her arms outstretched to the sky. Lapis hurriedly approached and reached out to her which caused Peridot to open one eye, but as soon as she did the boat fell back into free fall.

Peridot steadied it again but collapsed and turned into her mermaid form after doing so. Lapis knelt next to her until Garnet appeared. “Get up we need to get ready when the ship lands!”

Lapis didn’t want to leave Peridot, but Garnet was right. They were the only ones who had ample experience with these kind of situations. They turned the two remaining sails to work with the wind while Peridot convulsed on the ground in pain. It was an odd sensation to be on a boat that was so still in such high winds blasting around them. Once the ship touched the sea it began to shake, but it was clearly not as rough as it should have been.

It took many exhausting hours for the storm to finally start to subside and when it did Lapis went straight to Peridot’s side. “You don’t need to keep the boat steady anymore you can relax,” Lapis said as she stroked the length of her back. Peridot looked like she relaxed and became very still. Too still. Lapis shook her shoulder but didn’t get a response. “Peridot, you need to get up.” Still no response. “Come on, you need to get up!”

When Peridot still didn’t rise, Lapis picked her up bridal style and brought her into Pearl’s room while she was still in her transformed state and placed her on the bed gently. “Can you guys watch over her?” she asked Sapphire and Steven.

“Sure,” Steven responded. He looked shaken and queasy, but he still had his eternal joy radiating from his form. Sapphire nodded in response looking as elegant as she ever did as if the storm had not affected her in the slightest. As Lapis left Ruby and Pearl came running into the cabin to check on their beloveds. _Good thing Steven is in there or I think Peri would be pushed off the bed._

The sky was still ominous and gloomy, while lightning flashed along with thunder giving off a roar every once and a while. _The worst is over. Time to clean up._ One of the remaining sails had a large tear in it and there were a couple more holes on the surface deck, but overall nothing looked that much worse than it did before. _I’d hate to see the cargo hold right now._ Others started to calm and go back to their normal duties.

“Has anyone seen Lavender?” someone spoke up.

Everyone looked around and a thought finally hit Lapis like a cannon ball. _Oh god some people jumped._ “Chip, do a head count,” Lapis ordered.

Pearl came back out of her cabin and looked around worriedly and helped with calling out the roster. After one was done it was found that Lavender along with six other crew members were missing and couldn’t be found. “We need to search for them!” Amethyst yelled.

Both Pearl and Lapis were silent and glanced at each other. Lapis decided to take the blow for her, “Ame, we can’t. We’ve sailed too far away, and we would never find them. They are the ocean’s now.”

Tears started to form in her eyes, “We need to! They’re family, we need to at least try!”

This time Pearl spoke up, “Lapis is right. We would never find them and with out our largest sail it would take too long anyway. I’m sorry, to everyone.”

Silence reigned over until someone let out a hiss of pain. Attention went to Jay who was holding the lower part of her stomach where a small wooden stake was protruding out of. “I’m fine,” she said when she noticed everyone’s attention.

“Whoever has injuries go to my cabin where we can heal you,” Pearl announced. She turned to Lapis, “Watch over things out here while I heal everyone.”

“Of course,” Lapis responded in a monotone. _This has been a really shitty week._ About a dozen people slowly made their way into the room some bleeding openly and a couple people had glass embedded in them. “Alright guys, some of you will stay up here and try to fix this place and others need to go down and fix the cargo while taking inventory.”

It didn’t take long for Pearl to return to her side. “Do you and Peridot have another healing potion?”

Lapis raised a brow, “You need more?”

“I can’t find the healing potion or any of the other ones either.”

“I think she has one down stairs, I’ll go get it.” _I know Pearl is slightly disorganized, but I would think she would know where she kept a bunch of magical potions._ She retrieved the potion and handed it to Pearl. “Did Peridot wake up yet?”

“No, but she’s probably just tired. I wouldn’t worry about her.”

Every time Lapis would try to make her way into the room to check on Peridot someone would always pull her away to help them with something. Eventually the fatigue started to sink in and Pearl decided it was time for everyone to eat and take a break. The dinner was soundless except for small murmurs due to the several noticeable empty chairs. The people with the flesh wounds were healed, but it was clear that some people were still in pain especially the ones covered in glass.  Lapis’ mind continuously went back to Peridot sleeping in the room above her and rose from the table barely touching her food.

“Are you going back to work?” Amethyst asked.

“Yes, but I need to check on Peridot first,” Lapis answered. When Lapis got up there, Peridot was almost in the same position that she left her. She was still in her mermaid form and the only sign she was alive was her shallow breath. Lapis knelt at the side of the bed to stay next to her loyally and held her clammy hand while watching her sleep. She decided to dampen a cloth and move it around her head and upper body to keep her skin moist.

“You know, you should get some rest. Your body isn’t going to keep pumping adrenaline forever,” a soft voice chimed.

Lapis glanced over at Sapphire. “No, I want to be here for her. She will feel sick and confused when she wakes up.”

“Sleep next to her then.”

“She’s completely unconscious, it wouldn’t be the same. When her species sleeps they are half awake, so she usually wakes up and helps me with nightmares.”

“…you can’t sleep soundly without her?”

“Not anymore,” Lapis sighed. The infectious stillness was back, and it caused her back to crawl knowing that Sapphire was silently judging her.

“You’ve been meaning to speak to me,” Sapphire stated.

“I have, but I can’t now, Peridot needs me to be here and I need to give her my full attention.”

“I think now is the perfect time. You have not sought out my help before this and I am here right now.” Sapphire then pulled out Pearl’s chair and sat down.

_She’s what I imagine a physiatrist to look like._ “Fine. It’s probably not surprising to hear that I want to have an actual relationship with Peridot,” Lapis started. Her throat felt dry and she found it hard to get the next few words out. “I’ve never had what I want with Peridot and I wanted to ask you how you and Ruby do it?”

Sapphire’s face spread into a large smile. “Ah, we were all wondering when this would happen. And how we do it?” She questioned as she began to giggle, “My Lapis, I would have thought you’d known by now. Ruby is the dominant one, but I can- “

“Not that DAMMIT!” Lapis yelled cutting her off. “I need to know how you can be so happy together for so long and how you just make it work.”

Sapphire’s face fell once she heard Lapis’ tone, “Are you happy with her now?”

“Of course I am, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but I’m just so afraid that it will all end. Like one day I’m going to realize that I’ve done something terribly wrong and ruined it.” As she said this her hand tightened around Peridot’s.

“Lapis, you need to realize that this is different from your last relationship with Jasper.”

“I know it’s not the same and I’m slowly getting over it, but the fear is still there.”

“You’ve told Peridot to tell you about her insecurities have you told her some of your own?”

“No really…” Lapis sighed.

“Then you need to take your own advice and communicate with her. That’s how Ruby and I have stayed together for this long. You can’t be afraid to talk to her because it will eat you alive. You may even start to resent her for making you feel that way, even if she did nothing.”

“Talking is the only advice you have for me? Nothing else? What if we end up not being as compatible as I thought we were? What if our diverse cultures end up tearing us apart? What if I end up treating her like I did Jasper?”

Sapphire took a deep breath, “All relationships are filled with what ifs. As for the last question, you need to decide if you’re going to be like that. If you’re going to commit to a relationship with her then it will take work. If you find yourself falling back into old patterns, then you will have to catch yourself. If you feel this is too much work and you slack off the it could mean the end of your relationship and even your friendship and it will be your fault. Something you’d have to accept.” Her words were sharp and cruel, but they were meant to be.

Lapis only had to think for a moment, “I can do that.”

“It’ll get easier to keep these things in check as time goes on. Though, I do want to remind you to be careful that your relationship doesn’t turn into one based on dependence. Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“I’m worried about other things too. They’re specific to us though, like how long she’s going to outlive me, what we’re going to do on land, and the fact that she wants kids, but I have no idea if I’m ever going to be ready for that or where we’re ever going to get a child,” Lapis listed off.

At that Sapphire gracefully rose from her chair and started to make her way to the door, “Like I said, you just need to get comfortable with talking things out with her. And if you two really want your own child I can give you the satanic summoning ceremony that Ruby and I used to get Garnet.”

“Thanks for all the advice it really makes me-wait what was that last part?” Lapis asked quickly.

Sapphire giggled as she made her way out the door, “Oh nothing. And she’ll be awake by tomorrow. Goodnight.”

For the rest of the night Lapis continued with her ministrations and watched as Peri slowly turned back into her human form. She combed Peridot’s hair and rebraided some of the shells along with softly sighing comforting whispers in her ear. She only nodded to Pearl when she came in to tuck Steven into the other side of the bed and stayed up for as long as she could.

Lapis awoke when she felt a light pressure grasp her hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was super hard and awkward to write, and if I had my way I would have just nixed it, but I couldn't because plot. Only about five more chapters to go!


	24. Human Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating.  
> Italics are Peridot's thoughts.

Her head was pounding, and her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive and due to this her brain was signaling her to go back under. She would have if not for the presence next to her and the hand that was clasped in her own, so instead she opened her eyes to the blurry mess of morning. _This feels like the one time I drank the fermented plant liquid._ Peridot squeezed the hand that was in her own and to her delight Lapis stirred and focused her dazzling blue vision spheres on her.

“Peri you’re awake!” Lapis immediately woke up and moved far too fast for her slogging brain to fully comprehend.

‘Calm down,’ Peridot mouthed slowly putting her hand on her forehead.

“Sorry, but I’m just glad you’re finally awake.”

‘Why are you on the floor?’

“I was sitting at your bedside and you fell asleep- “

‘No, I mean why were you on the floor instead of up here with me?’ She was waking up, but it didn’t feel like she was going to be aware for long. ‘Be here with me.’

Lapis nodded and quickly wormed her way next to Peridot who snuggled into her almost too warm chest and went back into blackness. This type of sleep was different from all the others she’d experienced in her life. She wasn’t her normal half aware self, but for the first time she truly understood why humans liked it so much. It was deep, relaxing, and she could fully focus on the images her mind created.

She dreamt of many things from fun times on deck to the unimaginable possibilities of living on land. They flowed simultaneously starting and ending without care moving to and fro blurring together as water colors do on a canvas. In one dream it was just like the day where her and Lapis were dancing underwater, but somewhere mid spin Lapis turned into a mermaid like her. They twirled around each other with Peridot watching her shimmering blue scales intently, afraid that she would turn invisible due to her perfectly matched camouflage of color pallet.

The dance ended in an embrace and soon the scene swirled to when Lapis was in her arms fragile and pale having just gotten back to sleep after a nightmare. During these nights Peridot would stare at the glowing crystalline ceiling while caressing Lapis’ hair. Peridot lightly stroked the keys on Rose Quartz’s piano after playing a song that wasn’t in an official music book. It was written by Greg Universe and when she stopped playing she was suddenly aware that she had caused Pearl to cry softly once more.

Pearl was crying tears of joy while she was laughing with Amethyst, swaying and singing as well. She turned and saw Lapis dancing with Lavender, no they were dancing now. Somehow it always seemed to go back to dancing.

The dream faded slightly when warmth disappeared from her side and a distant, but familiar voices rang out. “You can’t just stay in my bed all day! There is too much work to be done.”

“I have to be here when she wakes up!”

“Steven will look after her while he does some light reading, we need you out there now! This boat is ready to collapse and we’re severely behind schedule!”

“Fine, just keep your voice down.”

A soft caress was all she felt when the warmth and comfort disappeared completely, and she was in her cave alone. Always alone. For the last unknown many years all she could do to keep herself sane was to collect anything and everything she could find in the dark. That and trying to decipher the puzzle of symbols that were in the multiple wreckage sights. Only the stars knew how long it took her to finally crack the code somehow giving her a new reason to live. It was always dark whether she was in her human form or not, the crystal ceiling always kept things dim. She missed the stars.

She missed the stars and true light so much she had to go back up to see it, even if that meant going back up to the open ocean and danger. When she got close to the light something was coming down to meet her and it was vaguely shaped like her. Once closer it was easy to see it wasn’t a member of her family, but it was close enough and if she saved it perhaps it could communicate or at the very least it could touch. With that decided she brought it back down into the darkness.

It was dark when she woke up, well woke up enough to stay awake for more than two minutes. Her body didn’t feel as heavy as before, but that’s like saying she was only carrying a two hundred pound fish instead of a two hundred twenty five pound fish. A sharp pain met the center of her forehead, but that went ignored in favor of keeping her eyes open, so they could adjust to the darkness.

The darkness.

Peridot jolted up and looked around frantically throwing her covers and tried to get up despite her tiredness. When her stubbed ankles touched the cold wooden boards some of the fog left her mind making her coherent enough to try to find her feet. Peridot could feel them of course, but she couldn’t lift them, and panic rose through her chest. It reminded her of the times before she mastered her powers and she had to drag her heavy body through the sand and rock that made up her floor.

Her breathing picked up as the brisk air started to attack her and cause her skin to tingle in a way that reminded her of when she was in her home. The door opened with a slow creek and suddenly there was a blue figure hugging her tightly. “I was so worried about you,” Lapis whispered in her ear. The fear drained from her and she held onto her blue life line. It was nice to have someone there to hold her, even if it somehow felt wrong.

They held each other for a while until Peridot started to feel tired once more. ‘Stay?’

“Of course.”

The next morning Peridot tried to get up with Lapis only to be pushed back down. “You need to stay here and rest.”

‘No, I need to help with the repairs and move the ship. It’s going to go much slower now without the main sail.’

“You just woke up from exhaustion! There is no way I’m letting you go back to work so quickly.”

‘I can’t just sit here all day! I need to be useful to the group.’

“Absolutely not. You’ll over exert yourself again and you’ll end up unconscious again. Just stay in here and I’ll send in Steven so you can teach him again if you really want to feel useful,” Lapis said gently.

Peridot only huffed and laid back down as the bed and watched Lapis walk out, but not before touching her forehead and kissing it gently. _That was odd, but certainly not unpleasant._ True to her word Lapis sent Steven in and Amethyst snuck her way into the room soon after. Peridot raised a brow to her appearance.

“Listen girl, as for general repairs we’re almost done and I’m not fixing that banister. I almost fell off this ship during the storm, and I am not risking it again,” Amethyst said with a small hair flip. She then picked up a book and sat down next to Peridot to practice her reading.

Their lessons lasted a couple hours with no one interrupting them. Every once and a while Amethyst and Steven asked her something, but for the most part Peridot was left alone to her thoughts. _This is ridiculous. I’m supposed to stay in this bed and do nothing all day?_ _They could need my help out there, I could even fix the banister._ She shifted uncomfortably and wrote, ‘If you need aid wake me, even if it’s the smallest thing.’ Her two charges nodded and went back to their studies. _It’s nice in a way, if we were living in the ocean they would leave me behind._

Peridot closed her eyes and relaxed her whole body to feel the ship around her. It was different from before of course with the main sail being gone, but without the heavy mast that had little metal in it the ship seemed easier to move. She edged it forward slowly and fell in and out of consciousness as she did so until she was shaken awake by a small hand. ‘What do you need help with?’ she mouthed. For some reason it was hard to focus, and everything looked a bit fuzzy.

Steven didn’t understand her, but could guess what she was saying, “Well, I kinda need help with this train problem, but you’re also getting really pale.”

 _He looks very worried for me. Cute._ ‘I am fine,’ Peridot wrote slowly, though she did note that her limbs were heavier again, and her letters looked off. ‘What do you need help with?’ It was a simple little question he only forgot to convert the hours of time into seconds. ‘Where did Amethyst go?’ Peridot asked noticing the purple one’s absence.

“Oh, she went to go get Lapis and Sapphire to take a look at you because you started to turn white and sweaty.”

 _Why did they need to bother her?_ Immediately after that thought the door burst open and Lapis ran to her side once more, her usually delightful blue eyes were glazed with worry. She put a hand on her perspiring forehead. “Are you okay? You’re so pale and look more exhausted than you did this morni- “

 _We’re not going through this talk again._ Peridot pulled at Lapis’ arm and maneuvered themselves, so she was on top and had Lapis pinned beneath her. The fast movement caused her brain to scrabble and become hazy, but she can hide her pain well by now, so she was sure it didn’t show. Lapis’ eyes were open in mild shock as she looked up at Peridot. ‘I’m not sick, you can calm down.’

Peridot’s arms were wobbling slightly, but it seemed Lapis was too distracted to notice that, “You still don’t look well. I think you need to relax and have more rest.”

“You absolutely do,” Sapphire said speaking up. She placed a cold hand on Peridot’s forehead which she leaned into for the slight comfort. “I’m going to warn you Peridot if you keep this up your fever will only get worse.”

‘I can live with that.’

“You won’t if continue going down this path,” Sapphire said in her same monotone.

“Alright, we’re going to have to leave. Peri, you really just need to sit here and rest,” Lapis said with finality and tried to get up.

‘No,’ Peridot mouthed and let her wobbling arms give out and fall on top of Lapis with an oomph. She could hear Steven and Amethyst laugh and was sure Sapphire had a grin on her face, even if she couldn’t see it.

“We’ll leave you two to it,” Amethyst said as they left.

Peridot gave a silent sigh while cuddling into Lapis’ chest. Lapis began to slowly stroke her from her neck down to her lower back. _This is a courting maneuver she knows that, but the stroking is so nice._ _I’ll bring it up later._ Lapis’ warm breath in her hair and the patient petting caused her to go to sleep once more.

The sleep she fell into wasn’t a pleasant one because it was deep not filled with pictures due to the ever-present darkness until she was woken up suddenly. “You’re both in my bed again!” Blurry eyes opened to see a semi-annoyed Pearl tapping her foot on the rigid wood flooring.

She stretched herself and reached out for a quill and paper. ‘My apologies Pearl, however you have plenty of room on the other side of the bed if you wish to sleep. Without Steven you could even invite Amethyst and it would be a cozy foursome, that is the word correct?’

Pearl took a deep breath as a red blush started to cover her face, “I suppose you could put it like that and why would you stay in here if you could leave and go to your room?”

“Look at her Pearl, she’s exhausted and you have the most comfortable bed and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind of it was just you and her,” Lapis quipped with an eye roll.

“What does that mean?” Pearl asked sharply.

Peridot rolled her eyes and wrote something else on the piece of paper, ‘You know what she means, just calm down before you fight. Do you need help with navigation?’

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m going to go and check on the sails. I’ll be back soon,” Lapis said. Before she left she touched Peridot’s forehead for a slightly longer amount of time than usual. 

When Lapis was out of sight Pearl looked back to Peridot with an angry huff. “Can you believe she said that?”

‘To be fair you did try to get me in this bed when we first met, and you were very suggestive about it.’

“Our relationship is different now!”

Peridot raised a brow, ‘Did our relationship change or did your perception of me and Amethyst change?’

The note caused Pearl to stop for a moment and shake her head. “We’re behind schedule with the main mast being out of commission and I need to confer the course with you. Can you get up?”

‘Nope.’

Pearl sighed, “I’ll get a star chart out.” It took an hour for them to properly chart out a corrected course to stop at the island the crew found them on to gather vital supplies. “Alright, so we have the course, but how long do you think it will take to get to Homeland?”

‘At five to eight knots per hour on average with the wind? Three weeks given that we spend a maximum of two days on the island. However, I can speed the ship up to sixteen or so for a couple hours at a time like I usually do.’

“No, you still need to recover. I had a feeling that you did that earlier today and I’m not going to tell Lapis about it, but I can’t have you do that again. You’ll die from exhaustion.”

Peridot waved her hand, ‘I did it today. After tonight’s rest I’ll definitely be able to move the ship at great speeds by tomorrow.’

“I said no, and that’s a direct order from your captain,” Pearl said sternly. “Just wait at least a week before you start to strain yourself more.”

She huffed but nodded her head complying to the order her superior's gave. Lapis finally came back in holding some food and water in her hands. Peridot noticed how dry her throat was from not consuming anything for almost two days. She quickly devoured what was presented to her while Lapis and Pearl eyed each other warily. Peridot pointed at the star chart and wrote, ‘Now, Pearl and I will teach you to read stars.’

“We are?” Pearl asked.

‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have another navigator on board to help us?’

“I suppose…” Their attention turned back to Lapis.

“Okay,” Lapis agreed when their eyes were on her, “But I think we should go to sleep before two, Peri really can’t exert herself anymore.”

Lapis and Pearl were tense for a fleeting time before Pearl got into the teaching mood and significant process was made. For whatever reason it seemed that reading the stars was a lot easier for Lapis to study rather than the language she spoke. They started to nod off around three thirty laying on the bed horizontally the large star map between them.

She gave them a tired smile and began to get comfortable on the bed by moving the charts and maps when the door gradually inched open to reveal Amethyst peeking in. Peridot motioned her to come near and wrote, ‘What are you doing?’

“I just wanted to see what you guys were doing in here for hours,” Amethyst whispered.

Peridot nodded and wrote for Amethyst to grab a blanket which she did. Then Peridot settled herself in between Pearl and Lapis (closer to Lapis) and looked at Amethyst expectantly.

“I can’t do that I don’t think that Pearl would be very happy if she woke up and I was sleeping with her,” Amethyst said with a hint of sadness sinking into her voice.  

In response Peridot rolled her eyes and shifted so she was closer to Pearl leaving enough space for Amethyst to comfortably fit near Lapis.

“I can’t do that, what if when Pearl wakes up she thinks I’m into Lapis?”

Peridot brought a hand to her forehead. _Dear salt, I’m too tired for this and she is bringing me a headache._ She shuffled closer to Lapis and pulled Amethyst down on the bed deciding that it was probably better for Amethyst to wake up next to Pearl than it was for her. _Humans and their mostly negative views on polygamy._

The bed bounced, but the asleep humans didn’t seem bothered and once Amethyst was down Peridot covered them in the blanket. It looked like Amethyst was shaking and unsure, so Peridot wrapped her arms around her which caused her to look more surprised. “What are you doing?” Peridot just nodded at the smaller girl in response knowing that she couldn’t answer her anyway and finally went under.

Peridot didn’t get a chance to fully appreciate the fact that she was safely in the company of the three closest people she knew because she woke up from a high-pitched noise of surprise and a thud. Three people look over the bed to see a flustered Pearl hyperventilating on the floor. “What are you doing down there Pearl?” Lapis asked teasingly.

“You guys looked really cute like that! I don’t see why you needed to scream and fall out of bed,” Steven said. Their attention turned to the boy who was reading in Pearl’s chair wrapped up in a nest of blankets. _He could have joined into the family cuddle of he wanted to._

“Everyone get to work now,” Pearl said in complete seriousness. _Ever avoiding the immediate topic of slight embarrassment._

Lapis only raised a brow and sprung out of bed with Amethyst who looked partially hurt. Pearl started to straighten up the room and told Steven to go below deck to have breakfast, also avoiding his eyes. After a couple of minutes, she turned to Peridot, “Why didn’t you leave with them?”

Peridot rolled her eyes and moved so Pearl could see her stubbed ankles and grabbed her piece of paper and quill once more. ‘You know, my people are together like that all the time. No need to get embarrassed about it.’

“Four people in one bed is…is something incredibly improper in my species,” Pearl spoke.

‘Your species is also impractical and illogical. Did you see Amethyst’s face? You wish to be bonded to her intimately and you let her think that you don’t even want to sleep next to her.’

Now Pearl was shaking. _I wish I didn’t make her feel anxious and self-depurative almost every day, but if I did not who would?_ “You’re right I should go apologies,” Pearl said with a past pace as she ran out of the room leaving Peridot alone.

Alone again. _At least it isn’t dark. I’m tired of not being able to move off this bed with out crawling._ Peridot closed her eyes and felt around the ship and located her feet underneath Pearl’s bed. _YES._ The familiar tingle went through her body and her body part reattached to her so she could rise. Haven eaten last night Peridot was sated enough to not have to join the rest for a meal, so she went around the room and made it perfectly organized once more. _I doubt Pearl will be able to find anything now that its so well kept in here._

It didn’t take long however for her muscles to start to grow stiff indicating her strain, so she collapsed back on the bed. _No moving the ship today. I regret not doing that with my limited potential._ All she could really do now was stare up at the wooden ceiling and read something in Pearl’s collection.

A small knock came from the door. “Oh shit, she can’t really tell us to come in,” someone said. A couple of the crew members piled into the small room, Jay, Carnelian, Skarky, and Navy to be exact. Navy fidgeted and seemed to be the most anxious out of the group looking everywhere but Peridot’s eyes. “Ah, hey Peridot, we just wanted to speak to you for a couple minutes,” Jay spoke up.

Peridot nodded and pointed at a new piece of parchment on Pearl’s desk. _I’ve written enough on this poor piece of paper._ ‘Is this about me almost eating that person?’ Peridot wrote quickly.

“Yes, part of it. We know--and by we I mean the whole crew—that you are a different species from us and have difference customs and ways of living, but there are some things you just can’t do. Eating a corpse is one of them,” Jay finished.

‘You make it seem so disgusting. Plenty of species practice cannibalism. I understand that you are the dominant one around here, but you must understand food is food. Every time you eat meat you are eating somethings corpse.’ _Honestly, why can’t they just see that it is a waste of good meat. Even when my family decided I had to die I would not have been upset or surprised if they ate my remains after they killed me. After all, it’s not like I wouldn’t get eaten by something else anyway._

The three looked at each other and this time Skarky spoke. “We understand where you’re coming from, but you need to understand that other humans are not as okay with that as we are.”

‘I know, I realize that seeing one of your own being eaten can be scary, but it happens to all animals. You must know that humans are no exception.’

“You think we’re only animals?” Navy asked finally looking at her. She also said it in a shaky voice which caused Jay to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Peridot tilted her head, ‘We are all animals.’ She took a deep breath before writing out the next part. ‘I wanted you guys to see it my way. I know that I need to change myself to fit into human social groups. Not only that, but I saw your faces and felt Lapis’ emotions when I was about to bite down on her throat. As much as I would like to I will not eat a human.’ _When there are other humans around._

The others looked very relieved when Jay read the note aloud. “We, ah, also wanted to say thank you for saving us and most of the ship,” Carnelian spoke up.

‘You’re my group now and I must do everything in my power to save you if not for me, but for Lapis. Thank you though,’ Peridot wrote with a smile. _I do believe that those words are proper to say after a compliment._

“I know it was a great loss that you couldn’t save everyone, but don’t forget that we really appreciate what you did for us. If we didn’t have you then none of us would be here,” Jay finished. _It was a great loss except for one._ They came over and hugged Peridot with all their might making her feel connected and loved once more. _Sometimes I can understand why they bond so closely with each other._

Four people let go of her, but only three left the room and suddenly she was alone with the small woman who looked far too much like Ruby for her taste. _She is much different from Ruby though, not as angry nor glued to a single person._ All she observed from the small woman in her time on board was that she was good at bringing favor to herself with the other crew members. _Now to figure out if she is better than Lavender._

“So, you’re a mermaid?” Navy asked.

Peridot nodded.

“Why do you choose to live here with humans when your rightful place is in the sea?”

‘Lapis,’ Peridot wrote simply on the paper.

The small girl gave her a questioning look, “Your species can feel love? I wasn’t aware.”

 _She didn’t have to spit out the last part._ ‘Almost. My emotions seem to be quite similar to yours, but not exactly the same. Muted in a way.’

“I’ve only ever heard of mermaids manipulating and eating people. What makes you any different?”

‘Nothing.’

Navy put one hand on her belt.

Peridot eyed her warily. She felt the metal around her in the room and found that there was a small amount near Navy’s hand. _Interesting. She thinks that she can surprise me?_ She willed her nails grow and her mouth shift to be filled with pointed teeth. It always hurt to transform, but it helped if it was slow and she only did a couple body parts at a time.

It wasn’t a surprise when Navy leapt up with a small knife in her hand seemingly aiming straight for her heart. Using what was left of her powers, Peridot slammed Navy down on the bed and pinned her, holding down the wrist that had the knife with one hand and putting her other to Navy’s throat. Peridot’s sharp nails dug into her and her body weight was enough to hold down the struggling woman, so she didn’t have to use her powers.

Navy’s eyes were large and afraid as Peridot looked down on her, or more specifically her exposed neck. _I could. I very well could end her right now and the others would understand._ Peridot’s nails could feel her racing pulse and fear was radiating off her to the point that it was nearly intoxicating labeling her clearly as prey.

Nearly.

 _I can’t._ Peridot let her body relax and she calmly took the knife out of Navy’s hand and threw it some distance away. Then carefully she rose to allow Navy to scramble away from her and out the door. _I can only hope I won’t regret this._ With the last bit of her powers Peridot felt around for the metal in the piano, closed her eyes, and let the soft notes play her to sleep.

The worst part about Navy attacking her was the startling reminder that she wasn’t as powerful as she usually was. It took years of practice and discipline for her to feel safe, but now if a major threat were to come there was no way she could protect herself or Lapis. So, she had to take their advice and try to recuperate as fast as possible which meant more time in bed, confined, and in the darkness of sleep.

The week off was nice however, even if she knew that the ship moved as a sea snail’s pace and she was filled with jitters and anxiety. Teaching Amethyst, Steven, and Lapis in their respective fields of study made her feel better and less alone. Even when they weren’t around Pearl always was. The captain may complain and prattle on about whatever topic was troubling her, but she was good company and as odd as it sounds she enjoyed that Pearl watched her as she slept. In some of her sleeps Peridot dreamt of all of them piled up together, happily snoozing in a great family mass.

One day near the end of her leave, Lapis left her to obtain food for them and she left with her now usual goodbye which was a touch and a kiss on the forehead. Recently she also began to trail a hand down Peridot’s arm almost always causing her to shiver. When she left Peridot motioned to Amethyst and wrote, ‘How exactly would you go about getting married?’

Amethyst’s jaw dropped, and Steven came over and after he read the note had stars in his eyes. “You want to get married to Lapis?!” he yelled.

‘I read about human relationships in many stories and a common way for those stories to end was for the couple to get married. I know of the concept, but I am still unsure what it means exactly,’ Peridot wrote quickly.

“Well, if we were on land and you were a proper lady you would need to be courted by your suitor. That would entail meeting family, talking, going on walks, and other boring shit. Since you and Lapis are not high class it would entail talking to the family and obtaining a dowry, usually,” Amethyst explained.

‘But neither of us have family or a dowry.’

Steven shrugged, “I guess that means you just need to go to a preacher or a ship captain then. Does your species get married?”

‘No, our intimate relationships usually end with consummation, but the way you humans do it is nice. Though, my species courts one another, and Lapis has been performing these motions for quite some time now.’

“So, you think Lapis will ask you?"

‘I am mute not blind.’

“Hey, I got everyone some food. I think its time for a break,” Lapis said entering the room.

Peridot quickly scribbled over the previous conversation and took her food from Lapis with a thank you. They finished their food and Lapis held out an arm to her which Peridot gladly took as she was lead outside. The little cabin had become her home base, but she missed going outside to smell the salt air and look to the sea. Soon she would return to her lovely room below in the dark hull of the ship and honestly, she couldn’t wait. Peridot wanted to be alone for a little while with her beautiful blue lionfish.

They walked out to the front of the ship and both her and Lapis took a deep breath. Peridot closed her eyes and felt the metal around her and was about to move the ship when Lapis shook her and pointed out to where a blanket of fog was that they were headed straight into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last Peri chapter before we get to the end! Thank you for all your comments, they make me very happy. :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts

After lunch Lapis held out her arm to her partner who didn’t hesitate to take it. They smiled and walked out to the bow of the ship and closed their eyes as they took the warm salty air into their bodies. _I can finally feel relaxed again._ When she opened her eyes, they were solely focused on her small partner-- _no love--_ as she too enjoyed being out of the room for the first time in about a week.

She watched as Peridot became ultra-focused and her breathing stopped indicating she was about to start to move the ship. _If she thinks she can start to strain herself immediately after she has recovered, she has another-where the fuck did that fog come from?_

Lapis shook Peridot and pointed out to the blanket of fog that was steadily approaching them. _A sudden storm?_ The vapor gave her a sense of unease that was only climbing as the vessel drew closer.

“Someone come help me with the sails, we may be heading into a ghost storm,” Lapis called out over her shoulder. “You should get back in the cabin, Peri. Wouldn’t want to repeat our last experience in a storm.”

Peridot shook her head, ‘Then who would help you? They obviously won’t.’

“What?” She looked back at her crew and found them all dazed with dopey grins on their faces. “The hell do you think you’re doing? I told you that I need help with the sails. Get into position!” They continued to ignore her and started to sway. She looked back and saw the fog was less than half a nautical mile away from them and closing in quickly. Lapis walked up to one of them and saw that their eyes were the same color as the fog approaching them.

More of the crew started to make their way to the top deck in similar conditions. “Amethyst where are you going?!” Steven yelled as Amethyst walked out the door to join the rest of her crew mates.

“I’m. I’m-I need to go towards,” Amethyst mumbled. Steven tried holding her back, but she continued to march forward until she was in line with everyone else.

Steven looked around clearly afraid until he spotted Lapis and Peridot walking around looking how they normally would. He ran up to them, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Lapis crouched down to his height and spoke carefully, “We don’t know little buddy, just stay close to us right now, okay?”

He nodded and latched onto Lapis’ side as they went around the ship and tried to talk to the others. Soon, the whole crew was on deck as the fog started to encroach onto the deck; weaving its way between the rails of the ship to the floor. All at once everyone began to mumble incoherently whispering in their own little worlds.

“Lapis…” Steven said in a small voice.

Peridot held them closer to her as they observed the people around them. Someone who was standing next to the unbroken banister gasped and leaned over it as far as they could go without falling in. “Maddy, I thought I heard you!” She yelled, and the others approached the rail with a similar vigor.

“Amethyst, I didn’t know you could sound so lovely…”

“Sapphire you know that I love you for more than your status. You’re perfect in every way…”

“Oh Pearl, I love it when you sing. You should continue…”

“Of course I love you Ruby. You need to stop thinking of yourself so lowly…”

“Holly, I don’t think you’re too old for us…”

The last remark was said by Jay and some of the other family members said things in an equivalent manner which almost caused Lapis to heave. “Isn’t Ms. Holly the lady who takes care of the orphanage where they’re from?” Steven asked innocently.

 _Oh fuck, I do not need that mental image._ “Yes,” Lapis said quickly. “But, now we know that they are all speaking about someone they love, right?”

Steven made his way to the railing as well and immediately looked back at them in alarm, “Look, there is someone in the water! Do you need help?”

When Lapis and Peridot made it next to him they saw a beautiful woman in the water with half glazed eyes and ignoring everything but her task. She was moving her mouth, but it didn’t seem like anything was coming out. _Or perhaps, we can’t hear it._ The surface of the water started to bulge and other human like creatures began to surface. _Mermaids. God fuck, it just had to be mermaids._

“They’re charming the rest of the crew we need to do something. Steven get back!” Lapis yelled drawing her pistol and aiming it at the one who was singing. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Peridot backed away as well. _These things are nothing like Peridot. They’re killers that only want a meal._ It didn’t take long for Lapis to cock her gun and take aim, but as soon as she was about to shoot Steven knocked the gun out of her hand and into the water below.

“You can’t shoot her! Just tell them that we have one of their own with us and they will probably leave us alone!” He shouted. Then he pushed Peridot closer, so she could be seen by the moving masses that would occasionally surface to stare at them. _They are trying to figure out what to do with us._

Another pretty girl rises elegantly from the water and whispered something into the singing one’s ear which causes her to stop her song. As soon as the song stopped the enchanted people fell onto the floor with a disturbing kind of lifelessness. Eight other bodies made their way up to the surface and they stared at Peridot with cold unfeeling eyes. One of them looked like she was the size of Jasper and as ferocious as a dragon with her blood red eyes, black mane, and pale (almost white) complexion.

They all looked mostly human the obvious difference being fish of rainbow scales on their bottom halves. Their ears were fanned out like Peridot’s do in her other form and their nails looked sharper than normal. The two most startling differences between Peridot’s form and them being that their skin did not look slimy, they had not slits on their necks to indicate gills, and they had very prominent breasts. 

Peridot herself was still, while she observed them in the same way, she was also noticeably tense and in a semi fighting stance. _She said all mermaids have a specific power, which means I’m not liking our odds here. Who knows how many of them there are and how long it will take for everyone to wake up._

A look of realization donned on Peridot as she turned to Lapis. ‘I recognize them. The one with the red hair is Prismarine. Three of them are also related to me, I can tell.’

“Are you sure?”

‘As anything.’ Peridot turned back to the crowd and stared at them, but it had a friendlier lit to it.

“Can any of you speak English?” Lapis called out.

“Most of us can,” growled the largest taking her spot out in front.

Lapis pushed Steven back a couple inches to be away from the banister and the many prying eyes. “We have one of your own here, her name is Peridot and she told me that she is related to a couple of you.”

A few of the woman exchanged glances, Prismarine’s eyes widened, and the big one continued to look annoyed. “That doesn’t matter. If she is one of us what is she doing out of the water? Do you keep her by force?” She asked in a threatening voice.

The other women also looked agitated by the questions and Prismarine started to inch forward to get a better look at them both until the Leader let out a low growl to stop her. “Peridot was injured and does not have her caudal fin, so she can’t really stay in the water and she can’t speak anymore either. She decided to live with us by choice.”

By now some of the people on deck were starting to stir and the fog was finally starting to dissipate giving way to patches of visible sky. It was a lot easier to make out the finer details of the mermaids. The smaller females had patches of miniscule scales imbedded in the skin and their eyes were slightly larger than a normal humans. The Leader however, was the most deviated, her jaw looked bigger presumably very powerful and full of jagged teeth.

“Then she is of no use to us. Get back into position,” the Leader said as she dove back into the water.

The others were about to move when Prismarine spoke up, “No.” The other women complied with her and gave her their undivided attention. “If she is who I think she is then we should not kill her.” Prismarine looked back to Peridot one swam ever closer to the boat.

People were groaning on the ship and waking up from their naps, hands on their heads as they sat up. The crew members also started to ask each other what happened, and Pearl groggily came up to Lapis. “Whuss goin’ on?” she slurred.

“Not now Pearl, this interaction could decide if we’re going to live to see the end of today,” Lapis whispered back.

Peridot held out her hand as if trying to reach out to the other woman in the water with tears in her eyes. “She said that your name is Peridot, right?” Prismarine asked carefully. Now that Prismarine was closer it was easier to see her beauty and more importantly her extended swollen stomach. She reached out her own dark chocolate colored hand for Peridot’s, but was still a few feet away.

Most of the crew were standing—shakily, but they were standing--and watched the interaction from a safe distance. Peridot nodded and leaned over the boat even more to the point where Lapis worried that she was going to fall off the ship and prepared herself to catch her partner if gravity were to take her.

The mermaids who looked more like Peridot came closer to the ship with anxious looking faces as if they had just seen the dead come back to life. The water around Prismarine started to rise to bring her closer to Peridot’s awaiting hand. “If-if you’re who I think you are, I’ve missed you so much.” Her voice was soft and fragile to the point where it could be drowned out by the calmest of oceans.

Peridot mouthed something that Lapis could not read at this level and was sure that the other mermaid couldn’t understand either, but Peridot’s facial expressions seemed to be clear enough. They were almost touching when a loud splash indicated that the Leader was back on the surface. Prismarine immediately withdrew her hand as the Leader approached, “I told you to get back into position, we are hunting these things,” she hissed.  

“No, we can’t she is one of us and she is the one who saved me when I was young,” Prismarine argued back.

“That doesn’t matter now. We need to eat. We haven’t had a full meal in weeks,” The Leader said slowly encroaching closer and making herself look bigger.

Prismarine backed up until she hit the wood of the ship, and in response Peridot let out a low hiss. _Oh shit it looks like she’s going to jump in._ Lapis wrapped her arms around Peridot’s waist to keep her from tumbling in the water.

“Ugh guys, I hate to interrupt, but there is a ship coming straight for us,” Amethyst said speaking up. She was also pointing out into the distance at the old looking ship that was close enough to read the name which was the Homeland Red Eye. _Wait. Red Eye? Isn’t that…._

“Fucking shit that’s Jasper’s ship!” Lapis yelled out. If everyone wasn’t awake before they were now from that announcement. Expletives were heard all around the vessel as the crew scrambled around to try to get ready for an inspection that they knew was coming. Lapis tightened her hold around Peridot’s waist and felt tremors go through her body.

Peridot looked back at her with worry, ‘The same Jasper who was an earlier partner?’

Lapis nodded and tried to hold back tears, “Yeah, lets-lets go down and hide with the rest of the older crew members.”

“We need to attack them now when they are distracted!”

They looked at the mermaids in the water who were mumbling and debating with themselves. “You should stay close to the ship for the next half an hour. There’s a good chance that someone will fall into the water,” Lapis replied shakily. Peridot tried to help her walk across the deck until her eyesight began to blur and her limbs felt weak. _What if she tries to take me back?_ _What if she realizes that Peridot and I are…we like each other? What would she do if she found Pearl or Steven or any of the other veterans?_

They were suddenly in Pearl’s cabin leaning against the wall and Peridot was staring at her with a concerned expression. ‘Are you with me?’

 _Deep breaths._ “Yes.”

‘Are you able to stand?’

She straightened up and was able to support herself on unsteady legs. “Okay, let’s get down to the hiding spot before we get stuck in here.”

‘I think we should stay in here for a little bit, so you can get your baring,’ Peridot mouthed as she lightly stroked Lapis’ arm.

Lapis grasped her hand lightly and opened the door to go out. “I’ll be fine as long as we don’t run into…” They must have been inside for longer than she thought because Jasper and a few of her crew members were already on the ship talking to a haphazardly dressed Jay. She froze as Jasper’s amber eyes landed on her and widened in surprise.

“You must really be a witch or something to be able to out whit death so many times my lovely blue maiden,” Jasper purred. She also took a step forward and Lapis took one step back, when it looked like Jasper was going to step again Jay blocked her.

“Don’t mind my crew. Now where were we with this paper work?”

Jasper’s face twisted down into an ugly frown as she pushed Jay aside. “Your crew member happens to be a traitor to Homeland and is therefore subject to a trial for her crime.”

Peridot tightened her grip on Lapis and stepped in front of her protectively and the rest of her family looked rigid. “You tried to kill me last time I was in your care. I refuse to be your prisoner.” She hoped that her voice was stronger than she felt.

“Luckily for me, you can’t refuse.”

Sharky and a couple others stepped forward trying to look bigger and made moves to get ready to pull out their weapons. “There is no way in this world you’re taking her,” Jay growled.

The behemoth woman observed her surroundings and backed down, “Sure, for right now. I believe you said that we had to go over some paper work?” 

_What? She’s going to back down? Just like that?_ Jay smiled, “Yes, now if you would look here in the papers…” It only took a few minutes for Jay to work her friendly charm making Jasper relax as she was talking to the captain. Though, Lapis couldn’t not notice her eyes leaving the papers and raking over her body every few minutes. Her and Peridot meandered around the ship checking ropes and sails to try to look preoccupied.

It felt like she was in a storm again with her heart beat in her ears and fear coursing through her body. The thing that was different however, was the fact that Peridot was patiently by her side ready to support her if she should fall again. _Just breath Lapis, you can do this. You’ve been doing this for years, and now you have others to help._ So, with this thought in her head she stood up straighter and held Peridot firmly when Jay and Jasper walked closer to them to get to the door that lead to the bottom of the ship.

Jasper looked mildly annoyed as she sized Peridot up, but made no comment towards her as she went below ship with a couple of crew members from both vessels following her down. As soon as the door closed Amethyst and a few others came up to her. “You doing okay? Amethyst asked.

“Yeah, it was just a bit much for a second, but it’s getting better,” Lapis responded with a tired smile.

Amethyst returned it and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as Peridot hugged her side. A few others came close to her, seemingly to form a small line of defense. They didn’t say anything, but they looked a bit more relaxed now that Lapis said she was okay. They looked over to the other ship with heads held high and not an ounce of fear.

The fear only came back when Jasper did with a couple more people in tow, more specifically the veterans from the war and Steven. Lapis’ stomach dropped as Pearl was dragged up from the depths of the ship paler than she usually was. Jasper brushed past them with a predatory grin and an obvious air of importance.

“Now small one what were you saying about the captain’s quarters?” Jasper asked.

Navy came out behind her brimming with pride and a twinkling smile on her own face. “I was just saying that if you were going to do a full search, you should look extra careful in the captain’s quarters. After all, that’s where the best treasures are, no?” Navy said with feigned innocence laced through her entire speech.

Lapis looked at her with mild horror and had to hold onto Peridot tighter because she was ready to jump on the small woman, and possible even Jasper for capturing Pearl. Amethyst was faring no better, but thankfully she didn’t need to be physically restrained yet. They watched with baited breath as Jasper entered the room. They all exhaled the air when she came out with nothing in her hands.

“Alright, so here’s how this is going to work: I take this,” Jasper said extending her arm outwards in front of her and her hand was in the shape of a fist. When her hand relaxed Pink Diamond’s pendent dangled into view from its chain sparkling in the light as it moved. “And I’m also going to take Lapis and her little pet with me. You get to keep the rest of your pathetic crew and no one goes to jail or to the gallows. Understood?” 

Lapis took a deep breath and made a move to step forward, but Peridot kept her firmly in place and the secure wall of crew members didn’t part for her either. If anything, they seemed to tighten together in a protective circle and became more ridged and ready for action. “You know I don’t think any of that’s gonna happen,” Amethyst said.

Jasper raised a brow, “You all wish to hang? Because harboring these people is treason. I can and will seize this ship.”

“You’re not going to take anything or anyone off this ship,” Jay growled.

“Oh really?” Jasper glanced back at her vessel and made a signal with her hands which caused them to reach for their guns and swords. 

‘I’ve had enough of this,’ Peridot mouthed. Her arms flew up and with a concentrated face she lifted the Homeland Red Eye twenty feet into the air and slammed it back down to the ocean. The sound of loud splitting wood was heard, and it caused a wave that transferred over to The Crystal Gem causing the ship to lurch.

The captured crew members stumble forward, Pearl into Amethyst’s arms to be dragged to safety as Steven followed. Jasper faltered, but quickly recovered and made another signal which beckoned the people from the other boat to hop over with swords and guns drawn.

Jasper’s crew seemed to be from the younger crowd not fighting in any major battles, this was evident when some of them were taken out easily by Ruby or Garnet. Swords clashed, and blood was spilt over the deck while screams rang out. Anyone who fell in the water disappeared into the deep. The only way to know they were there was their last breaths rising to the surface through bubbles and the cloud of blood.

 _God damn its been a while!_ Lapis’ sword clashed with many people as she fought in a way that she hadn’t since the war. The adrenaline pumped through her as she thrust her sword through the abdomen of an unfamiliar face carefully positioning the sword so it wouldn’t kill them. Once the last person attacking her fell, Lapis looked around and saw Sharky and Jay beating people until they were having trouble standing and throwing them back on the Red Eye in a pile. Pearl and Amethyst were fighting side by side clashing blades with four people trying their best to keep them away from Steven.

Finally, she spotted Peridot on the other side of the ship preventing cannon balls from entering the ship and bullets from the bodies of allies. Lapis went to her side knowing that all this activity was wearing her down as visible by the slowness she was deflecting the cannon balls and the slight drop in her shoulders.

An instant later Lapis bumped into someone and turned quickly to see a little angry woman who looked too much like Ruby. _I’m going to kill this little piece of shit._ With sword raised and intent clear in her eyes Lapis brought down her arm only to get pushed aside by Peridot who took a knife in the side.

Peridot let out a silent scream as Navy twisted the knife into her side to cause more pain with an insane smile on her face. _No no no nononono._ She doubled over in pain as Navy laughed insanely and took out the knife and went to stab her again until Lapis’ sword caught the back of her neck making her slump over instantly. Peridot started to crumble as well, so Lapis held her side to support her as they tried to walk across the deck. “It’s going to be okay Peri, I think Pearl has some healing potion left. You’re going to be fine,” Lapis said in a calm voice.

Most people were too preoccupied to pay them much mind until they were almost at the door to Pearl’s room. “So, your little fling got hurt? I didn’t think you could care for someone so much,” Jasper growled behind her.

Lapis and Peridot turned quickly to face Jasper. “Why wouldn’t I care? I love her,” Lapis admitted.

Jasper visibly stiffened, “Love? Didn’t know you could feel that way either.” Peridot stood up straighter and moved to get in front of Lapis when Jasper smacked Peridot so hard that she went careening into the wall behind them and fell on the ground. “Now, I can take you and that little bitch back to my ship or I can kill you both now.”

“Why do you need to keep doing this to me?! Can’t you be happy without actively trying to ruin my life?!” Lapis yelled.

“Because I can,” Jasper responded moving forward. “Because it makes me feel good.” She kept going forward with a sword drawn as Lapis took a step back. “Because no one cares about you enough to stop me.”

“That’s not true!” Lapis yelled.

“Really? Because I don’t see them here now,” Jasper said with sickening glee.

Lapis was ready to take her death and watched as the sword came down knowing that she didn’t have time to doge. Seconds before she met demise, her blood covered sword floated in front of her to block the attack. She looked to her side for a moment and saw Peridot laying against the ground with a weak hand out stretched.

Jasper looked confused by the hovering weapon and Lapis knew when to take an opportunity when she saw one, so she grabbed the hilt of the sword and thrust it through Jasper’s heart. Jasper stumbled back in shock making a chocked gasping noise with one hand on the hilt of the lodged sword and the other on the banister behind her. With a loud crack both Jasper and the banister fell into the awaiting watery hell below. Lapis just stood as she heard the screams and splashes that came a minute after.

A punch in the face was what brought her back into reality. “You killed her! You just killed her!” the woman yelled with tears in her eyes as they wrestled on the deck.

It took a moment to recognize the woman’s face, but she was definitely the first mate who helped almost murder her two years ago. “Fuck yeah I did! You have no idea what she did to me!” Lapis shouted with her own tears blurring her vision. She pined the first mate to the ground and tightened her hands around the woman’s throat until they stopped moving. As soon as she deemed it safe Lapis got up and went back to Peridot who in the meantime crawled into Pearl’s room and onto a chair.

“You doing okay?” Lapis asked gently as she helped Peridot apply the liquid to her wound.

‘Fine. Only apply enough to stop the bleeding. Some may have more serious wounds when the battle is over,’ Peridot responded.

 _I see her point, but I’m going to ignore her for the moment. I’ll put on enough so she can move comfortably._ As soon as they were done they went back out into the fray of battle which finally ended when Jasper’s old quartermaster drew a white flag and called off the fighting. “Stop! Stop fighting! We-cease fire!” the man yelled. After a moment most people looked up, tension thick in the air. “We can come up with a compromise!”

Pearl stepped forward and looked to Lapis to back her up, so in response she stepped away from Peridot. “We want you all to leave this ship no prisoners, no fees, and no talk about any of this,” Pearl demanded.

“I can’t do that! What am I supposed to say about the dead?!” he exclaimed.

“Just say they died of disease. Even the best soldiers fall to sickness when spending so much time away from land,” Lapis brought up. Some of the other crew members looked away when she said this.

“And what if we say somethin’?” someone spoke up.

“You do make a good point. I guess we could drop you into the sea of hungry mermaids if you don’t think you can keep your mouth shut,” Lapis said nonchalantly.

The person paled, and the quartermaster gave her a harsh look. “I will personally make sure that no one utter a word about any of this. Though, I will need to take the coordinates of this place to know where the necklace is underwater.”

“That’s fine, just don’t say anything about us,” Pearl asserted.

Everyone went back to their respective ships and as the Red Eye left they went around to help others with their wounds and count the dead. _This has been really shitty past couple weeks._ Four of their own were gone and the other ship left their own dead on board leaving a messy sight behind. They decided to throw them overboard to the mermaids after a quick blessing and prayer.

Pearl took a deep breath, “It’s finally over.” She smiled at Lapis and made her way to Amethyst and Steven who she ushered into her cabin so try to preserve the last shreds of his innocence. 

A sinking feeling spread through Lapis as her thoughts wandered to Jasper, Navy, and everything that happened. _Is it?_ She walked over to the broken balcony and knelt, so she could feel the splintering wood. Peridot sat down next to her and gently placed her head on Lapis’ shoulder. They sat and listened to the crew behind them and the slight sound of the mockingly calm water.

The calm was disturbed when the surface water broke and Prismarine reemerged from the water, looking up to Peridot with loving eyes. “Hello again,” she said softly.

Peridot gave her a small wave.

More merpeople came up from the water looking much happier than before. “This fell into the water during the skirmish and I wanted to give it back to you. It looks very important,” Prismarine said as she tossed Pink Diamond’s necklace up to them.   

Lapis caught it with a bit disdain. _I’ll deal with this fucking thing later._ “Thanks,” Lapis said managing to sound thankful.

The Leader was the last one to come up from the depths and once again she didn’t look happy. “We need to get going so we can arrive at our next feeding location on time.”

“We’ll be done soon, I just want to have another moment with the one I admire the most,” Prismarine responded with bite.

“She saved you once as a child and now you hold her in such high regard?”

“She not only saved me but allowed you to have your first child. She was also able to help provide food to keep the whole clan fed, which is a lot better than you at the moment,” Prismarine hissed.

The others in the water perked up at that thought and small whispers starting to ring out through the group.

“Prismarine is correct.”

“We finally have enough food.”

“She knows how to survive with humans.”

“She could be the one to save us.”

“She could be a very good leader.”

Leader suddenly looked very uncomfortable with her family as they began to surround her while visibly sizing her up.

Peridot and Lapis exchanged glances and knowing where this was going Peridot waved her hand. ‘I don’t want to be the new leader.”

Lapis translated for her and Prismarine looked surprised. “Why not?”

‘I don’t think I’d be a good leader.’

“You managed to spend almost three hundred years with out a family to help you survive! The fact that you’re alive is more than enough proof that you can be a good leader even without your back fin,” Prismarine reasoned. She then made the water surround her and lifted herself up to Peridot’s level and looked her straight in the eyes. “You could save this family and perhaps our species with the knowledge and skill you have. You would be with us again, and we could provide you with offspring and family.”

‘I have a family now,’ Peridot mouthed and touched her necklace.

Prismarine’s eye widened when Lapis relayed the information and glanced down to Lapis’ own neck and gave a small gasp. She lightly stroked Peridot’s face and touched her forehead with her own, “I understand.” Then she lowered herself back into the water as some of the other family members dove back down to the darkness.

“Don’t worry, we take this route often, I’m sure that we’ll run into you guys again. And hey, if you think that being with humans is the way your family wants to go, I’m sure you can join us later when you’re ready,” Lapis said trying to comfort her.

The rest of the family had disappeared back into the water and before Prinsmarine followed she gave them a small smile, “Thank you, and we will consider your offer.” Then she looked at Peridot directly, “And congratulations, I think you picked a good one.”

And then she was gone. 

They held each other close as they watched the ripples smooth on the surface of the water with the sun setting behind them.

“Alright everyone, get some rest tonight and get ready for a grueling day tomorrow because we have a lot of ground to cover!” Pearl shouted from the steering wheel.

Lapis rose and held a hand out to Peridot, the day’s adrenaline finally wearing off making her feel tired and drained. “Come on, let's go to bed. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

Peridot took her hand, got up on unsteady feet, and let out a shaking breath, ‘We certainly do.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that looked better in my head apologies if it is a bit slow, and apologies for the long wait, I blame my current obsession with Hamilton.  
> Also, my apologies to DreamlandB for not responding quicker a couple days ago. I would love to see any fanart created for this! Just put the link in the comments.  
> Other fannarts created for this:  
> http://ridl.tumblr.com/post/167495171159/peridot-as-a-mermaid-is-just-the-cutest-so-i  
> https://tweeterbirds.tumblr.com/post/171502938536/fanart-for-the-story-movement-and-flow-by


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating.  
> Italics are Lapis thoughts.
> 
> Also, just a heads up the end of the chapter gets a little saucy, so if you're uncomfortable with that just skip it.

The ship went into a new type of normal that most weren’t okay with but had to accept. It was a lot quieter than before from death and battle still fresh in everyone’s mind. Some of the older veterans were commonly seen standing silent and still for minutes on end. They would have a blank thousand-yard stare until they snapped out of it and shakily went back to their work.

Lapis was doing a lot of that.

Multiple times Peridot had caught her looking off the back of the ship out to the waves and comforted her while thankfully not pressing for details. Her concerned looks made Lapis feel bad on occasion, but every time she went to open her mouth nothing could come out. Talking about Jasper to Peridot had always been hard, and she only did it when drunk or on the edge of a breakdown.

Pearl was a welcome distraction because she seemed to be jumpier than usual too. Steven wasn’t allowed to leave her side for more than twenty minutes, and Amethyst stayed with the three of them every night when they were mapping the stars. They took turns sleeping in the bed together with one person staying up making sure they stayed on course while the other three remained tangled together.

Peridot made the ship move as fast as it could without causing damage to the point where Lapis had to watch the remaining masts to make sure that they didn’t have too much strain. A grueling task considering the ship was falling apart around them. They also had a limited amount of time to make it to Homeland on schedule, so the whole crew was stressed and on edge. 

“How long now?” Lapis asked Peridot as she stepped away from the bow of the ship.

‘We’ll be at the island by tomorrow, but we would have arrived sooner if I was allowed to work as hard as I can,’ Peridot replied with a sour look on her face. The wound on her side had healed immensely and she was well rested from her previous exhaustion, but Lapis and Pearl outright banned her from moving the ship for more than six hours at a time.

“You can’t overly strain yourself again, Peri,” Lapis said with a playful smile and held out her arm. _I bet she thinks that we don’t know that she moves the ship during the night shift._

Peridot took Lapis’ arm and they walked into the cabin together to get ready for the nightly preparations. They walked in and saw that Pearl and Amethyst were already pouring over the star charts standing closer to each other than what was typical of the relationship between a captain and her member of her crew.

“You two are at it early. Decide who’s going to take the first shift tonight?” Lapis asked lazily glancing at Pearl’s comfortable bed. The room had changed slightly since Lapis and Peridot decided to permanently move in. The main bed was really only comfortable for four adults when they were top of each other, so a spare cot was made for Steven from any material that could be salvaged from broken pieces of wood and scrap.

They slowly moved some of their things up to the room as well like spare clothes and books. Some of the other crew members even took turns sleeping in the old cell finding it slightly better than a floor or a table.

Amethyst looked up, “Yeah, Peri and I decided earlier that we were going to take the first shift outside tonight.”  

“Oh?” Pearl said with a raised brow. “You never want to take the first shift. Is there something wrong?” The last part came out shaky and one look in Pearl’s eyes and anyone could tell that she was worried.

“Peridot and I just thought that you two could talk to each other and have some time alone,” Amethyst admitted. Then she placed and arm to hold onto Pearl’s shoulder and gave her a quick small sideways hug. “Come on Greenie, let’s leave them to it.”

“Make sure that Steven joins you in no less than ten minutes! He needs to catch up with his studies,” Pearl yells almost frantically.

“Sure. Sure.”

When they left they closed the door softly leaving Lapis and Pearl alone in the office. “Well,” Lapis started, “doesn’t this feel familiar.”

Pearl’s face broke into small smile. “It certainly does.” She sat down in her captain’s chair and Lapis sat across from her. “Why do you think those two decided that we needed to talk to each other?”

“If I didn’t know any better I would say that they were trying to set us up or something,” Lapis replied. Conversation with Pearl had certainly become easier since their last serious chat. The air was less cold and stiff, and more emotionally intimate time together allowed a solid connection to form.

“It could be that, or they want us to talk about our last encounter with the Homeland vessel.” The light atmosphere evaporated and the two fell into a small silence.

“Can you not talk about it with Amethyst?” Lapis asked. Pearl shook her head. “I can’t talk to Peridot either I just- “

“Freeze up?”

“Yeah,” Lapis sighed. “I never really talked to her about Jasper. I mean, I did, but I never went into full detail about what she did to me, or what I did to her. Now that she’s seen Jasper and heard her speak to me, I know that she wants to know more about it.”

Pearl didn’t respond only signaling Lapis to keep going.

“It’s not only that, but now Jasper is gone. I don’t necessarily feel bad for killing her—I mean we both knew that one of us would kill the other eventually—but I always thought that I would be the one to end up dead.”

“How do you feel about all of this?” Pearl asked.

Lapis thought for a moment. “Confused. Jasper and I have been apart for a while now, and I legitimately hated her. It’s just that she was a the only constant thing in my life for a long time and she’s finally gone and she’s not coming back. It’s surreal.”

“Do you think her being gone is a good thing?”

“I mean, I guess it’s good for me and the people of that ship who just got promoted, but who says that she’ll stay dead? Like, what if she comes back as a zombie or something and she’s harder to kill the second time?!” Near the end of her rant Lapis began to speak faster and she began to hyperventilate.

Pearl didn’t make a move to physically comfort her, having been through similar situations before. “Lapis? Just listen to my voice, okay? There is no way that Jasper can come back. She fell into the water and was torn apart. I don’t think anyone can come back from that, even with the help of a very skilled necromancer.”

“Are you sure? Not even as a ghost?” Lapis asked, her voice quiet.

“For you to summon someone as a ghost you need to preform a ritual in a localized location where the person died and there is no way someone would go into the middle of the ocean to find that place exactly. She can’t come back its nearly impossible,” Pearl reasoned. She spoke in a calm voice for a few minutes until Lapis calmed enough to only shake slightly in her chair.

“Thanks Pearl. What about you? Were you able to talk about any of this with Amethyst?”

With that question Pearl’s calm at ease stance faded as shown by her wide-eyed expression and shoulder drop. “It’s…been hard. Being captured like that really put things into perspective. How everything could go wrong so quickly. How it would be so easy for me to go back to being a slave.”

“And you haven’t told Amethyst about this because you freeze up too?” Lapis asked gently.

Pearl looked at her with sad tired eyes, “How can I tell her about all the things I’ve been through and all the things that would have happened to us? Especially now that Steven is starting to ask the same questions.”

Lapis rose from her seat and gave Pearl a firm hug which she instantly accepted and moved into. “It’s okay. It’s completely your choice to tell her about anything painful and she should respect that. Same with Steven. They have no right to know your whole story if that’s not what you want.”

They sat and held each other for a while sometimes shaking and other times making small noises, but never pulling away. “Do…do you remember when we used to do this?”

Lapis’ initial reaction to the emotions that came forth was to bolt and hide, but instead she took a deep breath. “Not really, usually when we slept together I was drunk, so I don’t really remember afterwards either.”

Pearl looked up at her. “Really? How often were you drunk then?”

“It’d be easier to tell you when I wasn’t drunk. I do remember some of it though. Being in your arms. Very different from Jasper’s.”

After another small bout of silence Lapis untangled from Pearl and went back to her seat across from her. She could see that Pearl looked more relived and knew from her own relaxed posture and sate of ease that she did too. “Lapis,” Pearl started carefully, “do you really want to leave the ship?”

“Everything feels different now. I really don’t know,” Lapis responded truthfully.

“When you do let me know.”

Lapis nodded, and it seemed that their almost lovers knew the perfect time to reappear because they walked into the room just when they were wrapping up.

“You guys getting all emotional up in here?” Amethyst asked.

Pearl smiled, “I suppose you could say that.”

“What were you guys doing outside? There is no way that mapping took that long,” Lapis asked.

Amethyst’s natural happy bounce seemed to shift for a moment, but it moved back when Peridot put a sturdy hand on her shoulder. “Oh, you know life things. I mean we just found out how old Greenie is, and I wanted to hear some of the old-time stories she had rolling around in her head.”

_That’s clearly a lie._

“That’s right! Nearly Five hundred years old. You have to tell us some!” Pearl said happily.

 _They clearly talked about something else._ “Yeah Peri, I bet you could write a book on it. It’d sell a million copies,” Lapis spoke. _Its their choice to tell us though. If I want to hear their story, then they have to want to tell it._

They reached the island near midday and everyone on the ship went fucking crazy to see land once more. As soon as anchor set down some crew members dove into the water and swam to shore instead of waiting for the smaller transfer boats to transport them. When they got to the beach some started to dance and roll around on the solid ground below them before going out and collecting resources.

Eventually most of the crew was off the ship leaving only Lapis, Peridot, and a few stragglers. Peridot was at the edge of the broken portion of the banister, undressed, and was about to jump into the water and back down to her cave as Lapis watched. 

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Lapis asked.

‘I’m going back to the place where I lived for hundreds of years. I’ll be fine.’

“Yeah, but it’s really dark down there, and what if the ocean floor shifted or something and you can’t find it?”

‘I’ll be fine. Now I need to go. It’s likely that I’ll need to make multiple trips.’ With that she fell into the deep and disappeared within a few moments.

Lapis anxiously looked at the dissipating bubbles. _Oh god what if she doesn’t come back up? Or something attacks her down there? Or she can’t find the cave and Pearl ends up leaving her behind? No, no she wouldn’t do that. But what if she does?!_

“Hey man, are you doing okay?”

“Ah!” Lapis jumped. “Jay? Why aren’t you on the island with everyone else?”

“I could ask you the same thing, but Pearl wanted to go to land with Amethyst and have a co-captain that wasn’t going through obvious panic attacks to stay on the ship.” Jay gave her a good-natured smile and looked very relaxed in the strong mid-day sun.

“I’m not having a panic attack,” Lapis grumbled, “and wait, co-captain? I’m only responsible for raising sails and doing minor work around here. I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Yeah, yeah, just be glad that I’m not too unhappy about my current job security,” Jay said with an eye roll. “What were you panicking about anyway? And don’t say that you weren’t, I could see your fast breaths and stricken expression.”

Lapis huffed, “Fine. I don’t like that Peri is down in the deep ocean. It’s too dark and cold and she could easily get lost.”

Jay though for a moment and looked Lapis over up and down. “I would like to say that you’re just afraid to lose her, but I think something else is going on here. You’ve been really jumpy lately.”

“I did this already with Pearl. We talked about the raid on the ship, I’m good now.”

Then Jay tried to reach out to Lapis to which she flinched away from. “I really don’t think you are and I suggest that you put some time into figuring out why. Anyway, are you going to go to the island today?”

“No,” Lapis sighed, “There really isn’t any point for me to go. I’d rather be on the water anyway.”

Jay decided to sit next to her while they waited for Peridot to resurface. Sometimes they made small talk, but most of the time it was spent in silence. Lapis would stare at the water and Jay would stare with her only looking up every so often to check for any other ships. They didn’t know how long it took, but Peridot eventually made her way up with a large metal basket that she lifted and dumped its contents out on the deck. Without saying a word, she dove back down to get more things.

“See, she’s fine,” Jay said when Peridot disappeared.

“She might not be the next time she comes back up.”

Lapis anxiously watched each time Peridot came back up with more things, and when some of the other crew members came back on board they watched too. _I’m surrounded, but that’s okay._ Though, every time someone would accidentally brush her anywhere Lapis would jump slightly. Each time someone did they--and a few others--around her would ask if she was okay, but Lapis always managed to brush off their concerns.

“So, are we all in agreement that we should have that party for Amethyst tonight?” Sharky said addressing her family.

“Wait, what?” Lapis said finally taking her eyes off the water.

“Yeah we were talking about it on the island. You still in?” Sharky asked.

Lapis stood up, “Of course! We should start to get this place ready before Pearl and Amethyst get back though, food and preparations must be made!”

The rest of the family jumped up excitedly and ran around quickly doing their duties of fixing the ship, so they could start constructing the perfect atmosphere for their little sister. Looking around it was nice to see everyone working so efficiently and with smiles on their faces. _Ha, and people say that most are unhappy in their chosen lines of work._

People laughed and sang as the resources moved in and made the ship look slightly less like a smoldering trash pile. “Oooooo boy! This is going to be such a nice night for her that you and Green Fish will need to vacate that room!” Skinny said as she walked past Lapis. 

“Yeah, someone is going to have to watch Steven tonight!”

“Boat will rock and roll!”

“And it won’t be the motion of the ocean that does it!”

Continuous laughter rang through the ship, the family clearly happy for their younger sibling. Lapis only rolled her eyes and went back to her job—which was braiding plant fibers into impromptu rope—and tried not to think of Amethyst being intimate with Pearl. _Ugh, makes me a bit sick just thinking about it._

The boisterous laughter continued along with the crude jokes for some time only stopping to see if Pearl had returned or to check out what Peridot brought back up from the deep. As the sun was setting Peridot finally left the water and came back up on deck. She put on her metal feet and walked over to Lapis and draped herself in Lapis’ lap.

Peridot wrapped her arms around Lapis’ neck which forced Lapis to look at her, ‘How was your day?’

Lapis gulped and chose not to follow the drops of water trailing down her body. “Fine. I’ve been braiding for a while and doing other miscellaneous tasks. You know that party for Amethyst is going to be tonight.”

Peridot perked up, ‘Really? That should be exciting.’

“Yep,” Lapis hummed.

The two sat and enjoyed each other’s company until one of the crew members told them that Peridot should get dressed before Steven came back on the ship and Pearl yelled at her. With an over dramatic silent sigh Peridot got up and walked over to the pile of her things. Lapis’ eyes watched her—along with some of the crew—intently as she covered herself back up. _She certainly is beautiful._

She didn’t saunter back when she was dressed instead she set up her cauldron and began making potions on deck. It distracted everyone for quite some time watching her dance around it and the multicolored smoke that arose and flooded the deck. Even Pearl watched with rapt attention when she arrived back on ship.

After Peridot was finished people clapped and she looked almost surprised but decided to take a bow which gave her a bigger applause and whistles. “That was quiet exquisite, Peridot, I haven’t seen magic like that in a long time,” Pearl spoke while clapping.

Pearl then examined the things that Peridot brought up and helped her move them into the cabin effectively keeping her distracted from the party preparations going on around her. The sun had fallen by the time when everyone had finally brought up the food, booze, and music player up from the belly of the ship along with enough lanterns to light the area.

“That is fascinating! You collected that many flags just from- what is all this?” Pearl said finally noticing the set up.

Chip stepped forward, “We thought that everyone could use a break, so we decided to have an upper deck party like the ones you used to have at the time of the war.”

Pearl blinked, “Okay.”

Amethyst appeared next to her and lightly grasped her hand, “Only okay?”

Pearl looked tired, but a sliver of joy could be seen underneath it. “More than okay. This is a wonderful affair that you put on. Shall we start?” Then she tugged Amethyst over to the middle of the ship and started a slow dance as someone put on the appropriate music for them.

They ended the dance staring into each other’s eyes inching closer when one of the crew members screamed and sped up the music along with making it as loud as it could. Amethyst and Pearl jumped away from each other and looked away blushing, but still held hands. It only took a few minutes for the party to be in full swing.

 _Wow guys, you couldn’t wait to clam jam your sister, huh?_ Someone pushed the roll out piano from the cabin which caused Peridot to leave her side and play. _If I blur my eyes a bit and pretend that Rose was here it almost looks like the old days. Though, there’s less sex, alcohol, and general feelings of foreboding death._ Everything seemed to be toned down either for Steven’s sake or the fact that they knew sober Pearl got uncomfortable in that kind of environment quickly.

For the most part, Lapis stayed back and went to where the edges of the lantern light shown, so she was almost in the shadows. She watched the others dance, drink, and be merry as they continuously pushed Pearl and Amethyst together. Peridot played the piano with fever, fast and jovial in her endeavor.

At one-point Amethyst approached her with two drinks in hand. “What’cha been doing over here all by yourself?”

Lapis took one of the glasses and saw that it was some sort of colored liquid. “I’ve been observing. Not really in the partying mood, but it’s nice to see everyone so happy.” She placed the cup down and a couple inches away from her. _You don’t need it, Lapis._

“I would have thought that you would be by Peridot though, and that’s just fruit juice by the way, not alcohol,” Amethyst said taking a sip out of her own cup.

“Ah, thanks then.” Lapis drank the sweet liquid and enjoyed the fact that it didn’t burn going down. “Peridot can handle herself, and she looks like she’s having a good time.”

“Look at this. We’re a couple of lucky mother fuckers, eh?” Amethyst said gesturing to the pair. They looked over to the piano where Peridot’s slender fingers flew across the ivory with skill as Pearl was singing to a tune Lapis didn’t know. Peridot mouthed the words with her looking just as carefree and jubilant.

Lapis gave a small laugh, “Well, I would say the older part of your family are the literal mother fuckers around here after what I heard about Holley, but yeah, I suppose we are pretty lucky as well.”

Amethyst wrinkled her nose, “Ugh, don’t remind me of that. It gets creepy sometimes, especially when I think Not Mom returns their sentiments.”

“Really?” This time Lapis threw her head back to laugh, “Ah, while this has been a good chat, I think you should return to your lady in waiting over there before she manages to charm Peridot into her bed for more than just cuddles.”

She snorted, “I wouldn’t mind as long as I was also invited. How about you?”

“What?”

“I mean, we already share one bed and you and Pearl have already been a couple, we’re pretty close, and so are Peri and Pearl. Why not?” Amethyst looked at her with fear mixed with excitement.

It felt like Lapis’ heart stopped and her mind went blank. “Umm…”

“Sorry, it was just a thought. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. We can stop talking about it like you want.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re right though,” Amethyst said after a pause, “I should probably get back to her before she drinks too much. If I do buck up the courage to confess to her and we do go that far, I want us both to remember tonight.”

“That’s…a good plan,” Lapis said after a moment.

“I want it to be special, you know?”

Lapis blurrily remembered her first time with Jasper. It had been a few weeks after the large woman picked her up from the brothel she was living in. Jasper had just gotten promoted once again, moving closer to that coveted captain’s position on the ship. There had been a bit of drinking during the small celebration and everything was fine until they got away from everyone else.

They fought about something that Lapis couldn’t bother to remember, which ended in Jasper pushing her backwards onto the floor. Lapis fell with her back on the floor and her legs slightly spread.

Lord, she could still hear Jasper’s purring voice. “You should be in that position more often~”

Then she advanced to her and loomed over her, large and dominant placing a large hand on her thro-

“Are you okay? You’ve been silent for a couple of minutes and you’re holding that cup pretty tightly,” Amethyst asked worriedly breaking Lapis’ thoughts.

Lapis jumped, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just lost in thought. And you were right about before. You’re going to want to remember it. It’s something to look back on and learn from.”

Amethyst smiled, “Thanks man, and don’t think that I forgot about our little pact that we made. If I spill my feelings to Pearl, you gotta do the same with Peri.”

_Shit._

“Don’t worry you got this!” Amethyst yelled and patted her back. “I’ll talk to ya later.” Amethyst gave her once last look before marching off to the piano. She came up behind Pearl and wrapped her arms around her, to which Pearl leaned into. Then she said something to Peridot which caused the mermaid to look into Lapis’ directing with a sultry smile.

Peridot moved away from the piano and came towards her. ‘Hello.’ Peridot mouthed as she wrapped her arms around Lapis’ neck.

Lapis placed her hands gently on Peridot’s waist. “Hello to you too.”

They swayed to the more calming music that was now being played. With Peridot away from the piano, Pearl had to take over. The captain had her hands on top of Amethyst’s as they pressed on the keys together playing a slower softer song.

“Have you been having fun?” Lapis asked.

‘It has been a very exciting event. I believe I should have spent more time below the deck when these parties were still common.”

“Well, you can make up for lost time.”

‘I suppose. How have you been? I’ve noticed that you’ve been in the dark for almost the whole night.’

“I haven’t been much for parties for a while. I guess I’m getting old.”

‘Old?’ Peridot mouthed with a playful smile. ‘My dear, if I were a human I would be about a decade older than you.’

They spun, swayed, and Lapis dipped Peridot a couple times like they did in the cave a long time ago. Then someone misstepped--or it could have been both of them--and they tripped over each other farther into the darkness with Lapis landing on top of Peridot. The two didn’t rise however, they just stayed in that position staring into each other.

‘You know, I love you too,’ Peridot said with half lidded eyes.

Lapis’ heart stopped, “What?”

‘You said that you loved me when Jasper was on the ship and she assumed I was your latest fling, I believe the wording was.’

 _Oh my. Why would I say that? Wait. That means that she’s known how I felt since then. Which means she’s actually confessing to me. Shit!_ The crew let out a shout and cheer, but the sound was far away in the current moment. 

‘Lapis are you alright? You’ve been spacing out a lot lat- ‘

Peridot couldn’t say anymore because Lapis captured her lips, noting that she felt warm and tasted like love. Lapis felt like her throat was going to close, but when she pulled away she looked at Peridot with devotion and wet eyes. “Thank you.”

‘For what?’ Peridot asked tilting her head a bit.

“For always treating me like a human. Thank you for loving me.”

The mermaid smiled and lightly traced Lapis’ face, ‘How could I treat you any other way?’

Lapis smiled and let out a small laugh before kissing Peridot again. This time Peridot responded by stretching her neck in a clear invitation which Lapis gladly accepted. She sucked and bit Peridot’s tender neck until a dark bruise started to form. When she was satisfied with the mark they went back to kissing heavily on the deck.

Eventually, they got up off the floor and kissed until they were out of breath. Then they held each other close and listened to the booming music that was still being played. “Hey, how about we go downstairs?” Lapis asked.

Peridot looked up to her with the stars in her eyes, ‘I would love that.’

They stumbled below deck where no one was in sight. No one to hear them, no one to watch them, and most importantly no one to eavesdrop. When they got to their old room Lapis fell onto the bench and into the makeshift bed with their limbs still entangled. She could feel the heat already rising to her face from the fact that Peridot was sitting on her, in a way that she was straddling Lapis’ waist and looking down at her with alluring half lidded eyes once more.

‘While I do enjoy when you are on top of me, I am very eager to demonstrate what I’ve learned and observed over these many months,’ Peridot mouthed as she slid down so their bodies were connected and her breath was right over Lapis’ lips.

“I’m eager to experience it,” Lapis responded with a smirk.

With that Peridot closed the distance between them and captured Lapis’ lips. _Okay. Relax. This is good. This is nice. She’s not even that bad for someone who has almost no experience kissing._ They stayed locked together and despite Lapis’ pride she let out a small noise when she felt sharp nails comb through her hair and tug it gently. In response she tried to rake her nails down Peridot’s back which caused her to give off a soundless sigh as they broke away for air.

They were both flushed and panting when Peridot shifted once more to go back to straddling her hips. Lapis was about to question her when she started to remove her shirt slowly, obviously making a show out of it and them throwing it to the floor along with her chest support. Even though the room was dark, Lapis had enough mental images of a shirtless Peridot to know she was perfect.

Instead of sliding down Lapis like she did last time Peridot took her lips once more in a crouching position, so she could open Lapis’ legs with her knee which caused her heart rate to speed up. _It’s been too long._ Peridot’s left hand stayed in her hair to tug it while the other went down to massage Lapis’ chest and at the same time she started to move her knee to put more pressure on Lapis’ core.

Electricity danced around her body going down her spine and spreading through her, “Ahhh~” Lapis moaned louder. Unfortunately, the electricity also caused her eyes to prick and become blurry. _Calm down, this is okay. This is what loving couples are supposed to do._

Peridot pulled away only enough so Lapis could read her lips, ‘I wish I could make those delicious noises for you.’ She was smiling as she started to unbutton Lapis’ shirt, but froze for a moment, ‘Are you okay?’

“Perfect,” Lapis said breathily. Peridot nodded and continued her ministrations until the shirt was open and palmed her bare chest as she started to trail kisses from her mouth downwards. Lapis had to take deeper breaths to calm herself and her unstable heartbeat. Familiar heat was coursing through her, but another familiar sensation of fear was creeping up her as well.  

‘Are you sure?’

As a response Lapis thrust her hips to grind on Peridot’s leg and let out a low groan. This must have convinced Peridot because she decided to move her mouth down to Lapis’ chest and moved her hand from Lapis’ hair to her wrists to pin her down. Pinned. _Calm down she would let you up if you wanted to. Just let it happen._

Peridot pulled away again, ‘Lapis, you’re crying.’

 _When did I let the tears slip?_ “I always cry. It’s fine, we can continue.”

‘...this always happens?’

“Well, I’m not really sure. Most of the time I’m drunk when I do this, and I can’t really remember anything, but I’m sure it’s fine.” Peridot gave her a very concerned face, but Lapis didn’t let her respond because she pulled the other girl down, so she could ravish her neck, focusing on the bruise she placed there earlier. She felt Peridot sigh and going limp for a second in her arms which made it easier to press her closer and move her hips to gain more friction.

Lapis whined, and Peridot opened her mouth to let out a silent moan and moved her hand down to the button on Lapis’ trousers. Lapis froze and a combination of her and Jasper’s voice was swirling through her head. _This is good. This is okay. It’ll be over soon, just relax. You can do this for her, she has given you so much._ It took a minute for her to realize that Peridot ceased her movements and was hovering over her.

“Why did you stop?”

‘You’re not okay. I can feel it. Can you tell me what’s wrong before we continue?’

“I’m fine. I just-” _Just say it._ “I really need you,” Lapis choked out. 

Peridot shivered a bit as she said this, and slowly made her way down to her. Lapis closed her eyes tightly and waited. _It’s okay, calm down. Oh lord I feel like I’m going to throw up. Just stop shaking and be calm, she probably won’t hurt you if you submit._ She felt a light kiss on the center of her forehead and Lapis cracked open her eyes enough to see Peridot pulling away and buttoning her shirt back up.

Dread and panic started to wash out the arousal as she watched Peridot get up to grab her own top from the floor. The motions made Lapis absolutely mortified. _I must have done something wrong. What did I do? That stuff usually works. What if she gets angry?_ Her heart was pounding worse than when they were in the middle of the storm. _What if she hits me?_

The shaking got worse and her throat felt like it was closing as Peridot started to approach her slowly. She mouthed something, but Lapis’ vision was too blurry to make it out and she started to back up slowly until she made it to the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry,” Lapis said her voice hoarse.

One hand was placed on her shoulder and the other worked to wipe away her tears. ‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’ Peridot gave her a smile as she tried to calm her down.

“I ruined our first time and you deserve better than that,” Lapis responded and looked away.

Peridot moved so she was in Lapis’ vision once more. ‘You ruined nothing. Would you like me to stay with you tonight or sleep on the other bed?’

“Stay,” Lapis answered immediately.

‘Can you move down?’ Lapis did, and she made enough space so Peridot could get on the bed, though they ended up in a position where she was on top resting her head on Peridot’s chest. She listened to her calming heartbeat while being held closely and protectively by her new partner.  

“Thanks for this Peridot, and I am truly sorry about not being able to perform.” The tears were coming back, but they were a different kind. Less panicky.

‘You have no reason to be sorry.’

“I still feel it. I’m sorry that I just couldn’t do this for you.”

Peridot didn’t respond for a moment and looked straight into Lapis’ eyes, ‘You’re worth more than your body. We’re worth more than our bodies can provide,’ she said with finality.

Lapis held onto her tightly and whispered, “Thank you.”

They laid there neither being comfortable enough to sleep, but complacent enough to stay together. ‘You told me once that you loved the ocean,’ Peridot started, ‘what about it do you like the most?’

“Ummm, I’m not sure, I was always drawn to it. I love looking at the ocean it just feels so calming most of the time. I was even somewhat happy during the storm feeling the wind in my hair and the rain sting my face,” Lapis admitted.

‘What do you think of the animals? Shells and corals? What about the other magical creatures that inhabit it?’

“Oh well, my favorite animals are ones that naturally don’t have arms like…”

They spent hours talking about their favorite parts of the sea until Lapis’ voice was hoarse and she couldn’t keep her eyes open. As she drifted off she could feel Peridot’s breath around her ear, and she was sure she was whispering sweet nothings.

 

The next day they were still wrapped into each other and when they finally untangled Peridot kissed Lapis’ forehead before they parted for the day. Peri went to Pearl to talk about the ship’s course and eventually Amethyst made her way over to Lapis who was at the front of the boat rigging her plant fiber rope.

“Hey puma, how was last night?” Lapis asked.

Amethyst looked tired—probably a tad hung over—but had an air of satisfaction around her. “It was great.”

Lapis raised her brow, “That’s all? Did you confess? Did you and Pearl do it? Was it as good and memorable as you wanted it to be?”

“Dude, you didn’t hear the loud cheer when I held Pearl close to me, dipped her, and kissed her in a circle of people?”

“Oh yeah, I remember hearing that. Sorry, I was a little busy at that time confessing to Peridot, or rather she was confessing to me,” Lapis said looking away.

Amethyst hugged her tightly, “Congratulations!”

“Thanks, and to you as well,” Lapis said wrapping her arms lightly around her. “Now about those other questions.

The small woman’s cheek’s dusted red, but she didn’t back down. “We didn’t do anything. Pearl was a bit too drunk, you know. So, we just decided to cuddle. It was a little lonely with out you and Peridot there with us. Speaking of the little green devil, what did you two get up to?”

“Same as you. We were going to you know, but I just…I need a bit more time. I’m not as okay as I thought I was.”

“Lapis…”

They sat and looked out to the water until they were distracted by a voice and a pair of footsteps behind them. “Why hello there,” Pearl said slinking behind Amethyst and kissing her cheek.

While Pearl was with Amethyst, Peridot came up to the right of Lapis and lightly placed her hand over Lapis’. ‘How have you been feeling?’

“I’ll be honest not great. Ever since Jasper I’ve felt kinda shitty.”

Pearl perked up to Lapis with concern and patience, “Are you ready to talk about it?”

The hand around her own tightened and Lapis took a deep breath. “I am. At least a little bit. If you guys are willing to listen.”

“Of course.”

“You bet, man.”

‘You can always speak to me, my beloved.’

“Alright you guys better get ready because its going to be a wild ride.” Lapis then returned Peridot’s hold on her hand and linked her arm with Amethyst who had an arm around Pearl. As she told them stories about her past she didn’t even glance at their reactions. She let herself talk and continued to look out to the space ahead.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this! One more epilogue chapter to go!  
> Hope y'all liked the sauce at the end too, it took weeks to get it right.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'This' is Peridot communicating.  
> Italics are Lapis' thoughts
> 
> This is a lot of set up for a sequel, so if you want a nice wrap up either skip to the end or read the last chapter again. I think that is a pretty satisfying conclusion to the story.

A large thick wooden plank clanked down to make a bridge between the dilapidated ship and equally in bad condition dock of Cerulean Harbor. Lapis looked around at the depressing area filled with broken ships and people alike and smiled. _It’s good to be home._

Usually, if they were to dock in another area in Homeland they would have to find a secluded place to then bring deliveries to where they need to be. But, this particular harbor had been left to starve ever since Pink Diamond had been killed. The dock was the last place that the young monarch sailed off from before her death, so Blue Diamond had not visited or held a strong enforcement since. Drugs, prostitution, and all types of crime ran wild, and as a result no one gave a fuck about the old war ship that crawled into the harbor. From the ship’s own malfunctioning state, it looked almost as at home as the crew.

“Alright gang!” Pearl yelled from her position at the wheel. “So, we will only be here for one night, so make sure that you are back by seven tomorrow, we leave at eight.”

Multiple groans rang out.

“I know, I know, but we need to get back to New Colony, so Steven return to school and back to his father,” Pearl said smiling and ruffling Steven’s hair. The crew grumbled to themselves as they hopped off the boat and onto solid ground.

‘Why would Pearl lie about the reason we are staying one night?’ Peridot asked.

Lapis raised a brow, “How did you even know she was lying?”

‘She turned to Steven as soon as she said we couldn’t stay implying that she is guilty and the pitch of her voice was off.’

“Good catch, Peri. This place is bad news, and Pearl knows that any more than a day here would leave them drunk and with multiple diseases. One night in the land of the immoral is fine, but more than that can lure a person into wanting to stay. Plus, this is where most of us came from, so its home.”

Peridot peered over the sea of people and got a look at the decaying harbor, ‘You want to live here with me, and settle down here in the future? You aren’t selling it very well.’

“You don’t have a part of the ocean that you love, even if it is a polluted waste land?”

‘Fair point, my love.’

Peridot and Lapis stood near the back of the rapidly exiting mass of people waiting for Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven to walk off with them. Steven came over immediately, but Amethyst made her way up to Pearl and quickly locked her in a passionate display of affection.

“They are always doing this,” Steven whined.

Lapis laughed and ruffled his messy hair, “It’s okay little buddy, they’re just in the honeymoon phase. It’ll pass, and they’ll become more discreet eventually.”

Steven lightly pushed Lapis’ hand away and tried to fix his hair. “Or they’ll become like Ruby and Sapphire and I’ll need to leave the room every time they are together, which is always.”

Peridot began to rake her fingers through Steven’s hair to fix it. ‘Tell him not to worry, my dear. If they will no calm themselves then we will.’

When Lapis relayed the information Steven only snorted and leaned into Peridot’s touch. They gave the loving couple a few more minutes until the whole crew left and the trio started to get anxious. “Alright, love doves, you guys need to separate yourselves, so we get the holy hell off this ship!” _I can see why Steven is annoyed and bitter._

It took another moment for them to break apart and when they did Amethyst picked Pearl up bridal style and gently walked down the stairs. Pearl laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around Amethyst’s neck as they joined the small group.

“Now that we’ve wasted half the day waiting for the two of you, what are our plans like?” Lapis asked rolling her eyes.

“You didn’t have to wait for us,” Pearl responded. “But, Amethyst wants to show me some of the nicer quieter places in the area.”

 _The way they’re looking at each other doesn’t give me the impression that particular activity will be child friendly._ “Alright, guess we got the kid then. Good thing that we did stay back. We’ll meet you guys with the others at the orphanage for dinner,” Lapis said with a hand wave.

Pearl jumped out of Amethyst’s arms, “No! Steven can come with us. It’ll be a grand time.” She went to hold Steven’s hand, but he stepped closer to Peridot.

“It’s okay Pearl, you and Amethyst can have your alone time together. Plus, you won’t have to restrain yourselves,” Steven said looking her definitively. 

Pain flashed through Pearl’s eyes for a brief moment but backed away. “Alright, we’ll meet you guys at the orphanage later. Steven don’t stray away from these two this isn’t a good place to be by yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes Pearl.”

“Good, now let’s get off this rotting ship.”

They hopped off the ship and went their sperate ways with Amethyst leading Pearl to a more secluded area. _I can only hope that those two don’t get mugged on their journey to find a quiet place to bang._ The new trio went only a few feet before a loud crack was heard and Peridot stumbled a bit. ‘The wood is weak here.’

“It’s very old and no one has the money to replace it,” Lapis said as she helped Peridot become steady. _Eh, who cares about one more hole in this dock anyway?_

When Peridot took a couple more steps it caused the wood to warp and come up. ‘This structure can barely hold any weight or force. Will I be able to walk around the city?’

“Sure. The rest of this place is made of stronger stuff than deteriorating wood.” The trio walked up the cobbled road staying close together making their way to the main street. “Keep your hands over your pockets and Peridot, make sure that bag is closed at all times. We will get pick pocketed here,” Lapis whispered. Peridot had brought the satchel now refilled with gold, some potions, and the Pink Diamond necklace.

After realizing that the necklace could be cursed Lapis and Pearl made an executive decision to try to get rid of it. The task was left up to Lapis to find a way to dispose of the item safely so that it would not fall back into the monarchy’s hands. _Doesn’t mean that I can’t make a profit out of it._

The town was very different from New Colony with one of the biggest differences being that the buildings were a lot older and less well maintained. Most were constructed out of cracking aged stone that made the buildings warp and twist as height increased. ‘Why is the sky so grey here?’ Peridot asked pointing up.

“Ever since the magical creatures started to be driven out, we needed to find a way to do the tasks that used to be done by magic. Enter the age of the machine where smog floats in the sky as a byproduct of the process,” Lapis explained.

“How come all the stores are labeled with pictures and not words?” Steven asked.

“We’re in the slums kid, not everyone knows how to read.”

The people who didn’t go to school usually only knew how to read or write their names, so most stores just had a picture like an anvil for the blacksmith or a spool of thread for the tailor. When the small group walked around others eyed them warily as they passed the windows of the almost bare shops.

“Alright guys, do you want to get food first or look around in a few stores?” Lapis said eyeing the people around them. When Lapis made eye contact with a particularly large looking thug they stared at her without appearing afraid. They were ready for a fight. 

Both Steven and Peridot looked around at the near empty stores and the leering people. “There isn’t much to see here is there?”

“No. I know of a bakery that’s close by. Let’s go there for something to eat,” Lapis said quickly. _I hope that Pearl and Amethyst are doing okay._ More people looked at them as they rushed down the street towards the bakery. Almost everyone in town looked a lot like various crew members on the ship being well muscular, having a darker skin tone, and familiar facial features. None of them looked similar to Lapis.  

 _I always wondered exactly where I was from because it’s clearly not here._ Suddenly, a scurrying noise sounded from next to them and Lapis drew her gun and shot the animal that tried to jump them. It fell to the ground on it’s back with its legs twitching as it died from the hole in the center of its body.

“What is that! It’s the size of a small dog!” Steven shouted.

“Giant roach.”

‘Bugs aren’t supposed to become that large. There is not enough oxygen to support their respiratory system,’ Peridot pointed out.

Lapis shrugged her shoulders, “Magic residue can stick to anything. Hopefully these things will go back to their normal size once everything switches over to machines.”

‘I thought you said that all the magical creatures were being driven out.’

“All magical creatures with a mind are being driven out. You can’t exactly use racism and systematic oppression to get animals to leave.” As Lapis said this a flock of rats with wings flew overhead letting out both squeaks and squeaks. “Ugh, pigeon rats. It probably won’t be long before New Colony has the same problems with their animals.”

They finally made it to the bakery (marked with a picture of a long loaf of bread) and walked inside. ‘This…is not as nice as the Big Donut,’ Peridot mouthed looking around. It was old and rundown much like the rest of the area. The woman at the counter was an adult human who didn’t immediately great them like Sadie did. The glass cases had some bread, donuts, cookies, cakes, and other such pleasantries that looked almost fresh. 

“Hello miss, what would you recommend?” Steven asked politely trying to be friendly. Only the woman’s eyes moved as she looked down at him. They looked like a fish’s eyes at the market, glassy and dead. The coon rings didn’t help either. _Damn she makes me feel withered._

Eventually the woman took a deep breath, “Chocolate cake is our specialty.”

“But you only have vanilla here…”

“Exactly.”

Steven looked at Lapis and Peridot confused. “We’ll have a loaf of bread and one of those small vanilla cakes,” Lapis said.

She nodded and slowly put the contents of the order in a bag. “That’ll be four silver.”

Lapis brought out one gold coin and placed it on the counter and the woman raised a brow. “So stranger, if you answer a few of my questions I’ll let you keep the change.”

For the first time since they’ve been there the woman’s eyes lightened up and she snatched the gold coin off the table and tossed their order to Peridot. “What would you like to know Miss Blue Hair?”

From the corner of her eye Lapis saw Steven tearing into the sweet bread and Peridot observing the perimeter. “What’s got you so tired?”

“Them guys just upped my payment for protection again. It makes life ‘ard. Can’t afford to make as many goods as I used to which causes me to lose money.”

“The Devil’s Advocates still running the city?” Lapis asked. They were the group in control when she was on leave from the navy. When Blue Diamond pulled her troops out of the area crime ran rampant and some of the discharged veterans decided to start up a group to control it.

The woman actually smiled, “So you’re from around ‘ere then? Youse three certainly don’t look it. Most from out of the area don’t know that name.”

Lapis smiled back at her, “I’m from around here, but I haven’t been back for a while. How’s the economy been in the mean time?”

“’Ave you taken a gander outside? The economy is just as shite as the broken cobble. The Advocates are ‘aving a ‘ard time staying afloat and once they go this place will become hell. Or more of a hell than it already is.”

“Thanks for the info, stranger. It was nice to meet you.”

The woman gave Lapis a toothy smile—or it would have been toothy if she had all her teeth—and held out her hand to shake. “To you as well Miss…”

“Lapis. Lapis Lazuli.”

The trio then walked back outside and ate their meal while they walked. Well, Lapis and Steven ate while Peridot lightly demanded that they found their way to the fish market so she could eat something. Now that it was closer to midday more regular people were out and about and not just huge looking thugs.

When they made it to the fish market Peridot walked up to the nearest street vendor and pointed at the laid-out coalfish with authority. The fish monger paused in his work slicing a fish and looked up, “What, you can’t talk sweetheart?” Then he continued preparing the fish by cutting off its head and tail, then deboning it and taking out the guts.

Peridot shook her head as a response and slapped down a gold coin in front of him. The man inspected it for a moment and held up six fingers. Then he went to go prepare her fish when she placed a hand on top of his and shook her head. The man only shrugged and went back to his work now dumping the parts of the fish that he didn’t need down a storm drain.

“Sir, isn’t that bad for the sewer system?” Steven asked timidly.

The man eyed Steven and growled, “Nothing that the goop can’t handle, boy.” He flicked a fish head just outside the reach of the gutter with his butcher knife. As if on cue green slime moved from out of the sewer and surrounded the fish head. It glowed as soon as the item was its gelatinous mass and slowly crawled back into its dwelling.

“That’s new,” Lapis said with amusement.

“It’s not, but most who don’t pay attention miss the little buggers. Now your lady needs to pick out her fish,” he said gesturing to Peridot.

When they looked over to Peridot they saw her downing her fourth fish head, bones, guts, and all. The man only raised a brow and a few of the on lookers made a slightly disgusted face, but no one said anything about it. She picked up two more fish and walked back next to Lapis. ‘I am very glad that no one made a fuss over me eating or my feet. Very refreshing.’

“Yeah, I guess no one really gives a fuc-“

Lapis was interrupted by the man who grabbed someone’s arm and yelled, “What did I say girl?! Next time you get caught stealing from me, I take your hand!” He lifted the person up to reveal a teenager with fluffy white hair, light green eyes, and tan skin. Then he placed her arm on the cutting board and raised his butcher knife high.

“No, please!” She cried. Her voice sounded slightly distorted and she struggled to get away.

Just as the blade was about to come down Peridot stepped up and held the man’s arm in the air and opened his hand quickly to yank the young girl away. “Hey, who do you think you are lady?!” he yelled.

“Yeah, Peridot I don’t think that we should get involved with this…” Lapis said looking around. People were staring at them and a few ran away either expecting a fight to break out or going to get the local protection squad.

‘No, we are helping this child.’ Peridot stepped forward and growled as she put the girl behind her. It seemed like the girl was also trying to get out of Peridot’s hold, but the grip on her wrist was too strong.

 _Shit._ “If you say so,” Lapis said and then turned to the man putting her hand on the hilt of her sword, “You’re going have to let this kid off the hook.”

He snorted, “What you gonna offer me? The hand of the kid you have there or you gonna try to fight me? Because I’ve been in my fair share of brawls and I know I can take a couple of weak women.”

Steven hid behind Lapis who moved to be standing next to Peridot. _As much as I would like to knock his bitch ass on the ground it isn’t the smartest move here._ A couple of men were making their way to the front of the crowd in matching clothing. _Well, it’s a good thing that Peridot is fucking rich._ “How much do you want to let her go? We’ll pay whatever she stole from you before and the price of her hand.”

“Five gold,” he answered immediately.

“What! I never stole that much from you!” The girl yelled.

“Shut it brat! That’s my price,” he said with a smug smile. _I bet he thinks that we won’t pay it._ His smile turned to one of excitement when Peridot fished five coins from her bag and gave them to him. “It was a pleasure ladies.”

“Yeah,” Lapis said ushering the group away from the market place and the encroaching thugs. _I’m sure it was fuck face._ As they strolled off to get away from the crowd the girl still tried to move to get away. “Alright kid, what’s your name and who are we going to bring you to?”

“Just because you just saved me doesn’t mean I owe you anything!” She yelled struggling harder.

 _What a little shit._ “I think it does. Though because you were trying to steal food and you look and smell like you haven’t cleaned yourself in weeks I can only assume that you live on the streets.”

The girl stopped moving and looked down. “I’m supposed to be in the orphanage, but Holly kicked me out a little while ago for fighting and not going to school.”

This time Lapis froze. _Oh._ She took a deep breath, “Lucky for you we’re going there later today. We’ll convince Holly to let you back in while we’re at it, but for now you’re stuck with us, so you don’t get into any more trouble.”

“No! I’m not going back I’m doing just fine on the streets.”

Lapis looked her straight in the eyes, “You look like a sewer rat, you’re starving to death, and if this keeps going you’ll become a prostitute by the time you’re sixteen. Now kid, what’s your name?”

“Malachite,” she mumbled, “and I’m almost sixteen now and I never considered doing that. I have more pride than to sell myself.”

“Sure kid, you think that until you’re starving all alone and you’re so hungry you’ve already eaten roadkill and fishing scraps just waiting for the end to come. But, you’re starving now right? We just got some food.”

Peridot finally let go of Malachite’s wrist and offered her the rest of the bread that they had and her other two coalfish. Malachite’s eye lit up and quickly took the food and stuffed them in her mouth. It didn’t surprise Lapis in the slightest that the girl could eat the fish raw considering her non-human like sharp teeth. Not only that, but when her fluffy hair swayed another set of eyes on her forehead could be seen.

Malachite seemed much happier after she ate, but still seemed suspicious of her new companions. “What are we doing before we go back to the orphanage?” Malachite asked.

“We were just going to walk around and visit a curiosity shop that I know of before going there for dinner,” Lapis responded. The group began walking again and Steven tried his best to talk to their new companion, but the girl seemed determined to keep quiet. After a few minutes Lapis stopped abruptly and peered down an alley way, “It’s down here.”

Steven held tight to Peridot’s dress and said, “I’m not sure I want to go down there.”

‘I concur Lapis, it looks like we’ll find out death down there,’ Peridot mouthed and brought Malachite closer to her and put an arm over Steven.

“Don’t worry about it, right here is one of the safest places in town.”

Peridot rolled her eyes, ‘I doubt that.’ They walked into the alley carefully and as soon as they were a couple steps in it was clear that the atmosphere had changed. The air felt lighter almost as if it was heavy with electricity or something else. While everything was still made of old stone there was barely any trash making it clear that the area was scarcely used.

At the end of the long path was a small storefront made out of grey/red bricks that had boarded up windows. Lapis walked up and knocked on a chipping bright red door, “Open up you old fuck, I know you’re in there and I got something interesting to show you.” Then she stepped away and the door opened by itself.

The kids tumbled into the store excited to see what was inside, but Peridot still eyed everything cautiously. ‘I don’t like how this feels.’

Lapis stroked her back gently, “I’ve known this guy since I was a child. We can trust him.”

The two gave each other a soft smile and linked their arms together before they walked in. The store itself looked much smaller on the outside and was one large room on the inside that was separated into two halves. The room was occupied by towering book shelves that were filled to the brim with magical items.

“This isn’t a curiosity shop…it’s a magic store,” Malachite said, her mouth open in surprise.

“Why don’t you guys look around while I talk to Mr. DeMayo, okay?” Lapis asked. The kids immediately left their sides with stars in their eyes to look around at all the items. “Be careful not to break anything. Don’t touch what you don’t understand!” Lapis yelled after a moment of thought. Then she and Peridot walked up to the glass counter at the back of the store and waited for the man to appear.

‘So, you’ve known him since childhood?’

“I had to run away a lot as a kid, and one day I happened to come down here. He used to let me hide out and look at all the stuff,” Lapis explained. She pointed to a glass ball on the counter, “This is one of my favorite items. It’s a crystal ball that describes a pivotal moment in your life, but personally I think it’s a sham.”

Peridot inspected the orb and her eyes squinted in confusion, ‘It told me that I would determine the fate of a powerful gemstone. What does that mean?’

Lapis shrugged, “Maybe you sell a lot of gems down the road. Like I said the thing is busted.” This time she looked down into the ball and sighed, “It always tells me the same thing even now: You will have a relationship with a powerful entity.”

“It’s not broken Little Miss Blue, your prediction just hasn’t changed yet,” a voice said. A door appeared and opened revealing an old human man in a fur hat and fur lined jacket. “I’d say it’s nice to see you, but you called me an old fuck before, so I’ll welcome you with a fuck you.” His voice was raspy and had an accent that was not from the area.

“Fuck you too, old man,” Lapis responded with a smile. “How could my prediction not change by now? I’m dating the most powerful person I’ve ever known currently.”

DeMayo eyed Peridot up and down, “Tell me, is she a mermaid, selkie, siren, water sprite, or something that I didn’t even list?”

“You got it right on the first one,” Lapis said not at all surprised.

Peridot merely held out her hand, ‘I’m Peridot. It’s delightful to meet someone so pivotal to Lapis’ childhood.’

He shook her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet someone who is so pivotal in her life now, and call me Andy. Now Little Blue, what have you got to show me?”

Peridot placed her bag on the counter and Lapis dug through it for Pink Diamond’s necklace. “Peridot found this at the bottom of the ocean and we were hoping that you would be able to help us out.”

Andy frowned and held it up to inspect it, “You know what this is, right?”

“Of course. I know you won’t be able to sell it to anyone outright, but it is still a diamond. I was thinking that you could chop it and make a nice profit.”

He turned it around so it caught the light causing the stone to sparkle as if it was just cleaned. “Can’t do that. See that sparkle? I always suspected that these things were enchanted somehow. Never thought that they would do it with angel dust.”

“Oh shit.”

Peridot looked at the both of them back and forth, ‘Explain.’

“It is exactly as it sounds. They sprinkled the remains of an angel onto this thing,” Lapis started.

“And that means that this is a very powerful piece of stone. Hard to tell exactly what the effects are without asking the creator or putting it on yourself, but they can range anywhere from immortality to flight to materializing things out of thin air,” Andy finished.

‘Ah, oh shit indeed then.’

“How would they even get the stuff? Angels have been said to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago and this one was probably made no more than forty.”

Andy shrugged, “Mermaids were said to be nearly extinct too. You need to be careful with this Little Blue. I won’t tell anyone that you have it, but I’m not taking it off your hands either. I suggest you put it back on the bottom of the ocean where you found it.”

The group fell silent all looking at the object that glowed slightly until a crash was heard from somewhere in the store. Lapis quickly shoved the item back in the bag, “What did you two do?!”

“It was Steven, I swear!” Malachite yelled with fear.

“Hey! But it was me. Sorry, I knocked over this vase,” Steven said calmly stepping forward.

Andy narrowed his eyes and grumbled unhappily, “There goes the vase of a thousand rainbows.”

“I’m so sorry sir! I didn’t mean it I swear!”

“It’s okay Steven, we’ll cover it and the thing you’re trying to steal, Mal,” Lapis said reaching into the bag.

Malachite looked shocked, “How did you- “

“I was a thief once too, now hand it over.” The girl huffed and placed a switchblade on the counter. The handle decorated with a carved wavy green stone and the blade itself was bright silver and looked sharp enough to cut metal. “Nice choice kid, now what do we owe you?”

“It would run you ten gold, but since I know you, I’ll take nine.”

Lapis clicked her tongue, “Of course you will.” She gave Andy nine coins and handed Malachite the knife--while telling her to be careful—and turned to Peridot. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Can I get something too?” Steven asked looking around the shop.

“You got that vase that you knocked over,” Lapis answered.

Andy chuckled, “I’ll get you a bag so you can take it with you.”

When Steven walked up close to Andy, Peridot tugged on Lapis’ sleeve to get her attention, ‘They have very a similar facial structure, don’t you think?’

“I guess? Hey Andy, are you related to anyone named Greg Universe?” Lapis asked.

He gave Steven the bag and looked at them curiously and with a bit of anger, “I have a cousin named Greg DeMayo, but he left the family years ago to go and play his lute.”

“You know that really sounds like Steven’s father and the kid kind of looks like you. I’ll ask Greg about it next time we see him.”

Andy only grumbled a reply and after Steven cleaned up his gift Lapis turned her attention back to Peridot, “You want to look around the store?”

Peridot glanced around the room—presumably at the complete mermaid skeleton hanging from the ceiling—and shook her head. They waved goodbye to Andy and stepped back out of the alley way a moment later. It was still fairly light out, but they started making their way to the orphanage anyway. _It’ll be nice to see Holly and her mad house again. And we probably shouldn’t walk around when it is almost night time anyway. Don’t want to kill anyone in front of the kids._

They walk up to a house that seemed out of place in the neighborhood from how big it was and the fact that it had a small front yard that had fluffy green grass. Something flew through an upstairs window shattering it, but almost in an instant it was like time had reversed and the window was back in pristine condition. Steven and Peridot marveled at the magic, “Holly had the place enchanted by a wizard so that when anything on the property of hers breaks it gets put back together instantly. She also haggled him to get an eternally perfect manicured lawn.”

‘She seems like a very decisive lady.’

“She certainly is,” Lapis said. Then she looked down at the remains of pottery in Steven’s hand. “Let’s try something. Steven say that the vase is a gift for Holly.”

Steven nodded and dumped the contents of the bag out on the walkway, “Vase your owner is now Miss Holly Blue Agate.” A second later the vase put itself back together and produced a lovely small rainbow at the opening. “This is so Cool!”

Lapis knocked on the door and it was immediately answered by a disheveled Holly Agate. _She looks almost the same._ She still wore her hair in a very tight bun, had an expression of judgment and disgust on her face, and had the same rounded frame glasses. _The only thing that is different about her is that she has a couple more lines on her face._

Holly’s eyes narrowed on Malachite, “I think I told you not to come back. You’re not welcome here.” She went to close the door, but Lapis held it open.

“Hey Holly, I’m here too.”

Then Holly looked at Lapis and analyzed her face, “You’re not welcome back here either.” She closed the door again forcefully.

Lapis only rolled her eyes, “I’m not here to ruin your life Holly, we just want to stay for dinner like the rest of the crew. Oh, and take this girl back into your house. Seriously you need to stop sending children out on the street.”

“Why should I let you degenerates in?” Holly asked through the door. Peridot seemed like she had enough of this discussion and used her powers to slam open the door. Then she threw two gold coins at Holly which she caught and bent to see if they were real. “Thank you for your donation. Please come in, it’s very nice to see you again Lapis and to meet your wealthy patron.”

 _Same old Holly Blue._ The house was loud and messy, but it felt warm and almost like a home. _Though, the warmness also reminds me of being in Pearl’s cabin. Pearl’s cabin is definitely better than this place though._ “Now that you’re going to be here for dinner, would one of you be kind enough to help me with the meal and set the table? Malachite and boy can get settled into the accommodations,” Holly said not even looking at the group.

“Steven isn’t an orphan, we’re just watching him for Pearl,” Lapis pointed out.

“My apologies, I didn’t know that Pearl had a child. He can go play with the rest then.”

‘I can help her cook if you want. She seems very…unagreeable,’ Peridot mouthed to Lapis.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll help her cook. Just sit down and relax when you’re done, okay?”

Peridot smiled, touched Lapis’ forehead, and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before she parted. Lapis and Holly went to work with Lapis peeling potatoes and Holly cutting them once they were skinned. “So, that captain lady finally dumped you?” Holly asked.

Lapis froze for a moment. _Just breath. She’s just going to try to get you angry, so she has an excuse to throw you out._ “Yeah, she tried to kill me, Peridot saved me, and we recently killed her when she tried to invade the ship. I’m sure you’ll hear about it later,” Lapis tried to say dismissively. _That was a great one sentence summary of my life for the last two years._

Holly only hummed, “I always knew you would end up being a killer and not only during war. Peridot was her name? Pretty. How does she have so much money?”

 _Good ‘ol Holly. Right to the important things._ “She collected it all from the bottom of the ocean. She’s a mermaid,” Lapis said. _No reason to lie to her._

This time Holly froze, but then she picked up the knife and tried to run out of the room, “And you left her alone with children around?! She could kill and eat any one of them, you stupid whore!”

Lapis grabbed Holly and the knife out of her hand by the blade. “Ow Fuck! Dammit Holly, that’s not only racist, but stupid. I’ve known her for two years and she doesn’t even prefer the taste of human meat.” She used a rag to help stall the bleeding.

“You say that as if she’s eaten people before!”

Peridot came running into the room, her feet making clanking sounds as they moved. ‘Are you okay? I heard you yell.’

“Just a cut on my hand, no big deal,” Lapis said holding up her bloody appendage for Peridot to see.

‘That isn’t a small cut,’ Peridot chided reaching into her bag. She pulled out a healing potion and spread it over Lapis’ hand.

 _Fuck. No matter how many times I use these they still friggin’ hurt._ “Thanks Peri, I can see why you brought one with you.”

“Is that a healing potion? That’s worth more than your life. Where did you get it? If I may ask,” Holly asked eyeing the bottle carefully.

“She can make them. She’s saved many lives on the ship because of that particular skill.” When the skin grew back Peridot handed the potion over to Holly. “What. Why the hell are you giving it to her?”

‘Just in case the children need it. If Malachite got in so much trouble today, I can only imagine the other children.’

“Fine. Fine. And Peridot said that you can have the potion for the children.” _Bitch will probably just hock it for all its worth, but I guess Peridot can believe in good intentions for now._

“Thank you, Peridot. Why don’t we go back to cooking and finish dinner?” Holly asked giving Peridot a charming smile.

 _Ugh. Charming? More like a sinister manipulative grin._ Holly walked away to the kitchen and Peridot traced her hand down Lapis’ arm. ‘I know she bothers you. I’ll keep her distracted.’

“Thanks Peri,” Lapis said gently. “Love you.”

Peridot stepped forward and kissed the center of her forehead. ‘I know, and I love you too. Now relax my dear, the rest of the crew will most likely arrive within the hour.’

Lapis nodded and watched as she made her way to the kitchen. Holly chided Peridot slightly for not following her immediately but continued to prattle on about how much a donation would be beneficial to the children. _Thank god Peridot left the satchel here with me. Holly is so damn crooked she could be a politician._  

She sat down at the table that was in the house since before she was born and looked around. The walls were chipped and were colored on with crayon, paint, and who knows what else. _I’ve had a lot of food at this table. A lot of memories too._ Lapis traced a groove in the wood and thought of the last time she sat at the table.

Holly was screaming at her as usual and the rest of the kids had left by that point. She had never gotten along with any of her siblings and she spent most of her time at the docks anyway learning the fisherman’s trade. Besides, the water calmed her. It understood that she couldn’t stay in a building all day and look at confusing symbols that don’t really mean anything.

The foster mother didn’t understand though. She just liked to either lock Lapis in the house to keep her out of trouble or lock her out to keep her away from the other children because she was a bad influence. Holly just kept yelling and yelling, telling her that she would never get adopted with her attitude and would be dead in a gutter somewhere if she kept it up.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and she drew the knife that one of the sailors at the dock gave her and stabbed the table. The blade landed right between Holly’s fingers and while the woman still looked angry she also looked scared. “Miss, if you don’t shut the fuck up right now I’m going to make sure you’re silent forever.”

The next moment she was out on the street.

“You tryin’ to finger the table or something?”

Lapis jumped and looked over to Malachite who was sitting next to her. “No, kid and you shouldn’t say that. I was just remembering when I put this chip in it.”

Malachite pushed the button on her knife to bring out the blade and brought it down to the hole in the wood just barely missing Lapis’ fingers. “I always wondered where it came from. Miss Agate is really particular about the condition of the table.” Malachite continued to look down and carve the wood, “Thanks. For everything today. I really appreciate it. I think you’re really cool.”

Lapis let out a soft laugh, “I’m not the person who you should think is all that cool, trust me.”

Now all four of Malachite’s eyes bore into Lapis, “Why not?”

So, Lapis told her of some of her stories about her life. Some from her childhood others from her time with Jasper and a couple more current ones with Peridot. While Lapis was truthful with her tales she left some of the less child friendly details out. By the end Malachite’s eyes were shinning and she looked up at Lapis with wonder. At some point other children and some of the crew members had even wondered in and listened too.

“Hey guys. How long have you been here?” Lapis asked.

“A while now, since you were talking about your first time being the main rigger on your military vessel,” Skinny answered.

“I like your stories Lapis, you’re a very interesting person,” Jay commented sitting at the head of the table. 

“Thanks guys,” Lapis said smiling.

Everyone started to mingle after that and Lapis became quiet. She watched Malachite interact with the other children, but mostly have her attention on Steven while stealing glances at Lapis herself.

Amethyst and Pearl were the last to stumble through the door and someone in the group let out a low whistle, “Look at our little sis, finally with the girl of her dreams.”

“Damn right!” Amethyst yelled falling in a chair. Pearl sat next to her calmly and if she didn’t look like she was just in the middle of a storm she would be perceived as the most poised and calm person in the room. Amethyst recounted their adventures of the day which consisted of almost being robbed in one of the caves just outside of town. Apparently, that was the Devil’s Advocate’s new hideout and they needed to use charm, wit, and bravery to escape.

“You are truly the stuff of legends,” Lapis said trying to contain her laughter.

“Foods ready!” Holly called from the kitchen. “Help us bring it in!”

The older crew members rose immediately to help Holly and brought the food over to the table carefully. The meal consisted of a fuck ton of mashed potatoes, a couple of grilled fish, and a small roasted bird of unknown species. A small banquet for a whole crew of a ship and forty or so children. Peridot sat down so she was on the other side of Malachite.

When the food came around everyone had to take little of the meat, but a lot of mashed potatoes. Lapis noticed that Malachite took less than the other children and Holly watched her do so. “Malachite not at the table,” Holly scolded, “Now, we must pray for this lovely meal our Diamond and our Lord has provided for us.”

Malachite looked down and closed one set of her eyes and covered them with her hair. Then they all held hands and prayed, but Lapis pretended to. _God has never done anything for me._ Peridot had her eyes open slightly the whole time to try to fake pray as best as she could. _Does her species have a religion? I don’t ever recall her talking about it._  

When that was over everyone could finally eat and talk freely, though a lot of the crew had their attentions on Holly. While Holly was distracted Peridot took the opportunity to transfer some of her food over to Malachite’s plate which the girl greatly accepted. Peridot silently laughed and combed her fingers through the girl’s hair affectionately.

Even after all the food was eaten everyone still sat at the table for a good time. It only ended when Holly mentioned that some of the crew members were oddly missing and someone had to tell the tale of their deaths.

It was quiet as everyone helped to do the dishes, even the children knew not to talk. Once all the chores were done it was time to settle down for the night. The children went upstairs to sleep in their beds and most of the crew piled in on the living room floor. Although Lapis had Peridot, Amethyst, and Pearl beside her it was too hard to sleep. _It’s too fucking hot and muggy to sleep in here. Can’t open a window either. There would be a mass murder._

 _What a weird day. It was like reliving parts of my own childhood and it sucked cock. I’ll need to talk about Holly in one of my little therapy sessions in Pearl’s room soon before I can ever think about moving back here._ Just being in the house brought up a lot of memories that she had forgotten about over the years. _I mean, I know I was a shitty kid, but she could have helped me stay out of the brothel a little bit._

The rest of the night was spent hallucinating memories and listening to multiple crew members get up and go to Holly’s room like it was a revolving door with Jay being the first to rise. At first all Lapis heard was Holly crying about the children she had lost, but then it devolved into more pleasurable activities. _And after my lovely career as a whore and my delightful relationship with Jasper I can’t do that anymore, but she can. I wish I had whiskey right now._ Lapis held onto Peridot tighter and Peridot began to comb her hair and try to relax her almost subconsciously.

Lapis got almost no sleep the whole night.

It didn’t matter though because everyone—including Pearl—had slept in meaning that they would not meet their usual departure time, but no one really seemed to mind. The crew was just happy that they got to spend more time with Holly at home.

“Alright people,” Pearl started after breakfast, “after this we’re going to have to leave. We need to get all the returning cargo and start making our way back to New Colony. We don’t want to be late and we have a long trip ahead of us.”

The crew groaned but accepted the fact that they needed to leave their home behind. Most of them went up to Holly and gave her a big smile and a hug. _Nah, fuck that. Fuck her actually._ Lapis and Peridot were about to exit the door when Malachite came up from behind them and gave Peridot a tight hug. “Thanks for everything Miss Dot.”

Peridot hugged her back and mouthed, ‘Anything, my child.’

Lapis relayed the words back to Malachite which prompted a grin on the girl’s face. And Lapis almost missed it, but she was sure she saw a glint of gold make its way into the girl’s pocket as well. “Don’t worry kid, you should be seeing us around at least once a year. We’re on the crew after all.”

“I can’t wait.”

When they got back to the dock the new freight had to be loaded on the ship and Pearl yelled at Amethyst to finally fix (put in) the banister. During that time the crew was happy, and they joked with each other like they did before the fighting and deaths. Jay walked up behind Lapis and ruffled her hair, “It’s good to see you here.”

Lapis swatted her hand away, “Yeah, it’s great to see you too.”

“We know seeing Holly can be hard for some of the people that she wasn’t the best too, but it was nice to have the whole family back together,” Chip said walking up to her.

“It was nice just to have a nice time together,” Skinny said as she walked by.

Some of the crew members crowded around her and Peridot gave her a playful smile. Lapis looked at them suspiciously, “What’s going on with-“

The next moment Lapis was tackled in a big family hug. In the big huddle they all said things like, “We love you blue sister.” They also said similar things about each other in the big pile of love. _It may have taken thirty years, but I guess I was unofficially adopted._  

“We need to get ready to go,” Pearl said walking close to the group.

Jay and Chip gave each other side glances before pulling Pearl into the group as well. “You’re one of us!” Pearl tried to struggle out of the hold but gave up soon and accepted the family moment.

“I really like this and appreciate the appreciation here, but we really need to get going,” Pearl asserted.

After one more tight hold the crew dissipated and went back to their normal activities. Only Peridot and Pearl stayed behind. Pearl looked nervous and muttered, “I hope it didn’t get squished.” Then she confidently looked up to Lapis, “Well, if you’re going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future I, Captain Pearl Saltator here by promote you to my official co-captain.”

From her coat Pearl brought out a blue and gold captain’s hat that had a large red feather sticking out from the top. “Pearl…it’s. Thank you,” Lapis said accepting the hat.

Pearl placed a hand on her shoulder, “You deserve it. You’ve come a long way and you’ve been a great help to the success of this ship. And sorry if it looks a little fake. Amethyst and I had to get it from the costume section of the tailor shop.”

Lapis laughed, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” The captain smiled and congratulated her before walking away to check the cargo. Lapis looked over to Peridot who was holding onto her arm and looking at her with pride. “Well my lovely fish, we should get up to the ship’s wheel and get ready to leave.”

The pair walked up to the wheel and Amethyst wasn’t far behind them. “God damn, I finally finished that friggin’ banister. I think we should have just left it off. We’re getting a new ship anyway.”

The ‘new’ banister looked like a couple pieces of wood that was barely held together by a fuck ton of nails. It looked as if a stiff gust of wind could bring it down. “I’m a little sorry to tell you this, but that looks like shit.”

Amethyst shrugged, “So does the rest of the ship.”

“I guess.”

“If it blends in and is still functional then I don’t see a problem. I promise you, it’s stronger than it looks.”

“Where did you even get that wood?”

“Stop that ship! That woman needs to pay for the wood that she stole from me!” A man said running down the dock.

Lapis gave Amethyst a hard look, “What the hell?”

Amethyst only shrugged again.

“Alright crew it’s time to go! Untie the ropes and push off. We’re wasting daylight!” Lapis yelled.

The man ran faster to try to get to the boat, but he tripped on the boards that were broken by Peridot’s feet earlier. The rest of the crew must have saw him and inferred trouble from the tone in Lapis’ voice because they quickly pushed away from the dock. They were a few feet away when the man finally made it to the end of the pier.

Pearl came back up after a moment, “Why did we pull away so fast? And what was that man yelling about?”

“I just wanted take my new position as co-captain seriously Pearl. And you know how the people are around here. Always trying to skim you for something,” Lapis responded.

“Oh, well good job, Lapis.”

Lapis hummed. Conversation quieted down as they made their way to the ocean. The salt wind smelled nice and the feeling of Peridot holding her arm pressing into her side felt divine. When Lapis gave the main controls back to Pearl she took Peridot off to the side to hold her close.

 _It’s like I can feel the universe and she’s in my arms._ Dipping Peridot gently, Lapis kissed her deeply and then touched her forehead with her own. They didn’t need words to know how much the other cared, only to look in the other’s eyes.

‘I can’t wait to experience all of what life has to offer with you, my treasure.’

“And I to you, my eternity.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first completed story! How exciting! Looking back there are definitely a couple things I would change, but overall I’m satisfied with how this came out, and I hope you all are too. I got a Tumblr (thecloudwrites) now if you want to ask me any questions about it. Idk how to use it or how to do anything, but I’ll try. 
> 
> As for a sequel, there will be one, but I want to write two other fics and finish one that I started before I get to it, so it may be a while. I will get to it though, I promise.


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